Church of God News

Artist Interpretation of the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.
(Wikipedia)

COGwriter

Today, May 20th, marks the 1700 anniversary of the start of the Council of Nicea.

Rome’s Pope and Constantinople’s Patriarch plan meet later to commemorate that council:

May 19, 2025

Leo and Bartholomew will hold a joint event later this year to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. The gathering is expected to take place in Iznik, Turkey, the ancient city of Nicaea, where the landmark council was held in 325 AD.

Sources noted that the meeting may be scheduled for the end of November, potentially coinciding with the feast day of Andrew the Apostle, the founder of the Church of Constantinople. Such a visit would provide the pope with an opportunity to visit the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul. …

Convened by Emperor Constantine I, the council aimed to resolve theological disputes, … like the date of Easter and church organization. …

While modern terms like “Orthodox” and “Catholic” are often used today, at the time, there was no formal division between Eastern and Western Christianity. The Church was still unified, often referred to as the “Catholic” (universal) Church, with “Orthodox” used more so to signify virtuous belief rather than a separate branch. https://greekreporter.com/2025/05/19/ecumenical-patriarch-pope-leo-agree-joint-event-nicaea/

Pope Leo XIV wants ecumenical unity:

19 May 2025

Pope Leo XIV held a special audience on Monday for ecumenical and interreligious delegations that took part in the Solemn Mass for the Inauguration of his Petrine Ministry.

In his address, the Holy Father highlighted Pope Francis’ emphasis on universal fraternity, continuing the initiatives of previous popes, especially St John XXIII.

Pope Francis, “the Pope of Fratelli tutti, promoted both the ecumenical path and inter-religious dialogue,” Pope Leo said, “above all by cultivating interpersonal relations, in such a way that, without taking anything away from ecclesial bonds, the human trait of the encounter was always valued. May God help us to treasure his witness!”

True unity is unity in faith

Speaking first to other Christian Churches and ecclesial communities, Pope Leo XIV took note of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, emphasizing that unity among Christians “can only be unity in faith.”

He added that the pursuit of full and visible communion of all Christians is one of his priorities as Bishop of Rome.

At the same time, he recalled the close links between ecumenism and synodality, and assured the delegations of his commitment to follow Pope Francis in “promoting the synodal character of the Catholic Church.”

A common path in the spirit of human fraternity

Turning to representatives of non-Christian religious traditions, Pope Leo XIV said our “common path” can and must be understood to involve everyone, “in a spirit of human fraternity.”

Today, he said, “is the time for dialogue and building bridges.” https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-05/pope-leo-xiv-now-is-the-time-for-dialogue-and-building-bridges.html

Pontifex Maximus, a title for pagan Roman Emperors, and now popes, basically means “greatest bridge builder.” By non-Christian religions, Pope Leo means Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and others. He wants the 1700th anniversary of Nicea to promote ecumenical and other types of unity.

The ecumenical 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea could have major ramifications:

Together, pope and patriarch return to Nicaea on 1,700th anniversary of defining moment in Christendom

Joseph MacKinnon

May 19, 2025

The pope and the patriarch’s joint trip to Nicaea signals fraternity, renews hope of possible reunification.

Seventeen centuries ago, bishops from around the known world gathered in Nicaea … Now, as the anniversary of that defining moment in Christendom approaches, leaders on either side of the Great Schism are preparing to return, drawing East and West closer and renewing hope in the promise of Christian unity.

In the year 325, Emperor Constantine I called over 250 bishops — 318, according to tradition — to convene during the pontificate of Pope Sylvester I in the Bithynian city of Nicaea, 55 miles southeast of present-day Istanbul. It was the largest gathering of bishops in the church’s history up until that time. …

This dogmatic council was of critical importance both then to the unified church and now to Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, and other Protestants …

Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople are making a joint trip to the place where their predecessors met 17 centuries earlier. While various obstacles some figured to be insurmountable still stand in the way of full reunification, the meeting of the Christian leaders on this particular anniversary and the anniversary itself have sparked renewed interest in Christian unity and the ground that the faithful share in common.

Of popes and plans

Prior to his passing, Pope Francis proposed celebrating the 1,700th anniversary with Orthodox leaders in a Nov. 30 letter to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, who previously indicated a joint trip was expected to happen in late May.

Pope Francis noted in his letter to the patriarch that the Catholic Church’s “dialogue with the Orthodox Church has been and continues to be particularly fruitful,” yet acknowledged that the “ultimate goal of dialogue, full communion among all Christians, sharing in the one Eucharistic chalice, has not yet been realized with our Orthodox brother and sisters,” which “is not surprising, for divisions dating back a millennium, cannot be resolved within a few decades.”

‘It is good whenever the pope and the patriarch meet.’

Prior to heading back to Toronto from Rome, where he participated in the conclave that elected the new pope, Archbishop Emeritus Thomas Cardinal Collins told Blaze News, “The 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea is most important for all Christians, because it was there that the bishops clarified the basic Christian faith in the divinity of Christ. The Nicene Creed, from this council and the next one, in Constantinople a few years later, is still the basic expression of our faith in the Trinity.”

“The division of East and West that occurred much later in 1054 is most unfortunate and has impeded the spread of the gospel,” continued Collins. “But the churches of East and West, while having different theological and liturgical styles, recognize one another’s apostolic succession and, with a few issues still in dispute, basically agree on doctrine as well. One thing that divides us is historical memories, but increased cooperation has brought some healing there.”

‘The remembrance of that important event will surely strengthen the bonds that already exist.’

Cardinal Collins noted further that “it is good whenever the pope and the patriarch meet. All Christians, facing so many external dangers, need to work together. The anniversary of Nicaea, which occurred long before the division of East and West, is a perfect opportunity to deepen our knowledge and love for one another, but especially Jesus. The closer we are to Him, the closer we will be to one another.”

Pope Francis, then evidently of a similar mind, told Patriarch Bartholomew I that the anniversary would be “another opportunity to bear witness to the growing communion that already exists among all who are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

“This anniversary will concern not only the ancient Sees that took part actively in the Council, but all Christians who continue to profess their faith in the words of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed,” wrote Pope Francis. “The remembrance of that important event will surely strengthen the bonds that already exist and encourage all Churches to a renewed witness in today’s world.”

The interest in a joint trip was evidently mutual.

During a March address in Harbiye, Turkey, Patriarch Bartholomew underscored his desire for a joint celebration of the anniversary, reported the Orthodox Times. He also emphasized the importance of the Council of Nicaea.

“The Council of Nicaea stands as a landmark in the formation of the Church’s doctrinal identity and remains the model for addressing doctrinal and canonical challenges on an ecumenical level,” said Patriarch Bartholomew.

The Chicagoan steps up to the plate

Various leaders in the Christian East welcomed the new bishop of Rome following his May 8 election.

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, among them, expressed hope that Pope Leo XIV will “be a dear brother and collaborator … for the rapprochement of our churches, for the unity of the whole Christian family, and for the benefit of humankind,” reported Vatican News.

Days later, Pope Leo XVI reportedly stated, “The meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will take place; we are preparing it.”

When asked about the significance of the joint trip, the likelihood of East-West reunification, and Orthodox interest in such reunification, Fr. Barnabas Powell, a parish priest in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America speaking on his own behalf, told Blaze News, “There is simply no way one can be faithful to Christ and not long for the unity of all Christians.” …

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s joint trip to Nicaea with Pope Leo XIV is hardly the only celebration of the anniversary that has brought East and West together.

Earlier this month in Freehold, New Jersey, hierarchs, clergy, seminarians, and faithful from Eastern and Western traditions — including elements of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Church in America, the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey, the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic, the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Eparchy, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn — participated in an ecumenical prayer service “testifying to the unifying power of the Nicene Creed and the enduring vision of the Council Fathers.”

Similar celebrations have been held elsewhere across the world. https://www.theblaze.com/news/together-pope-and-patriarch-return-to-nicaea-on-1700-anniversary-of-defining-moment-in-christendom

The original Council of Nicea was called by the Roman Emperor Constantine.

In my book titled The Last Pope of the Malachy Prophecies: Do Biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies Point to Pope Leo XIV? I have the following:

Leo XIV will be ecumenical. …

From May 20, 325 A.D./C.E. to August 325, the Roman Emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicea. One of his political objectives was to get ecumenical unity in certain matters. In 2025, there are meetings to mark the 1700^th anniversary of this, which are expected to include ecumenical discussions. …

we should expect Leo XIV to promote interfaith dialogue in order to build closer connections with Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and others.

Let me mention that the Council of Nicea did not represent “all Christendom” as no Church of God leaders attended. But that council, and subsequent ones, did result in the adoption of doctrines that the Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and most Protestants ended up accepting. Several of which were not held by the original apostles or their faithful followers.

Notice what a former Roman Catholic priest wrote about Constantine:

Constantine … No one was ever more devoted to than he to the sun god, Sol … Emperor Constantine never relinquished his title of Pontifex Maximus, head of the pagan state cult … Twice married, he murdered Crispus his son by his first wife, in 326. He had his second wife drowned in the bath; killed his eleven year old nephew, then his brother-in-law, after giving him assurances of safe conduct under oath …

Constantine was a soldier at a time when shedding blood was unacceptable to the church … When Constantine called bishops his beloved brethren and styled himself ‘Bishop of Bishops’, which popes later appropriated, he was not a Christian, not even a catechumen. Yet no one remotely approached his stature and authority. Even the Bishop of Rome … was in comparison, a non-entity … All bishops agreed that he was ‘the inspired oracle, the apostle of Church wisdom’ …

It is another paradox of history that it was Constantine, a pagan, who invented the idea of a council of all Christian communities … At Nicaea the Founding Father of Ecumenical Councils gathered 300 hundred bishops, having laid on free transport … Maybe he simply wanted to show that he was in charge. He proposed what came to be called ‘the orthodox view’ of God’s Son being ‘of one substance’ with the Father. All dissident bishops caved in, except for two whom Constantine promptly deposed and sent packing … His cynical use of Christ, in which everyone including the Roman Bishop acquiesced, meant a profound falsification of the Gospel message and the injection of standards alien to it. (De Rosa, pp. 35,36,43,44)

A committed sun god/Mithras devotee came up with the Council of Nicea.

It was about one year after conquering the Eastern Empire (thus resurrecting the combined Roman Empire) the sun-worshiping Emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicea. That Council declared:

1) The Roman Sun-day or day of the Sun was to be the Christian Sabbath.

2) Rules regarding seasonal prayers, penance, and indulgences.

3) That the Greco-Romans believed that Jesus was one substance with God the Father.

4) Passover would be on Sunday and not the biblical date of Nisan 14.

Perhaps it should be mentioned that this Council did not prohibit pagan sun-worship, but instead decreed that true Christians should not keep the seventh-day Sabbath nor should they be allowed to keep Passover on the 14^th.

Here is some of what the Greco-Roman Catholic historian Epiphanius wrote in the mid-4th Century:

… the emperor … convened a council of 318 bishops … in the city of Nicea … They passed certain ecclesiastical canons at the council besides, and at the same time decreed in regard to the Passover that there must be one unanimous concord on the celebration of God’s holy and supremely excellent day. For it was variously observed by people …

Eventually, those in parts of Europe (e.g. Britain and Germany) changed the name from Passover to Easter (Ostern in German). Easter and Ostern are other names for the Babylonian goddess Ishtar (which can be pronounced as Easter), the so-called queen of heaven (also called Ashtaroth in the Bible in 1 Samuel 12:10). The “Queen of Heaven” is also a title that has been associated with Europa, for whom the continent of Europe is named.

 The Catechism of the Catholic Church goes so far as to claim:

1170 At the Council of Nicea in 325, all the Churches agreed that Easter, the Christian Passover, should be celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon (14 Nisan) after the vernal equinox.

This simply is not really true, and it should not be taught in the modern Catechism. Passover was still kept on the correct day by the scattered faithful church and always has been, since the time of Christ. The fact that the Emperor got an agreement from those he summoned did not change the Bible (or its truly faithful followers).

It should be noted that it is understood, even by some Roman Catholic scholars, that “Judeo-Christian” churches were not represented on at that Council. Notice what priest Bellarmino Bagatti wrote:

…the inhabitants of Syria, of Cilicia and of Mesopotamia were still celebrating Easter {Passover} with the Jews…

The importance of the matters to be discussed and the great division that existed had led Constantine to bring together a big number of bishops, including confessors of the faith, in order to give the impression that the whole of Christendom was represented.

In fact…the churches of Jewish stock had had no representation…From this we can conclude that no Judaeo-Christian bishop participated in the Council.  Either they were not invited or they declined to attend.  And so the capitulars had a free hand to establish norms for certain practices without meeting opposition or hearing other view points. Once the road was open future Councils would continue on these lines, thus deepening the breach between the Christians of two-stocks.  The point of view of the Judaeo-Christians, devoid of Greek philosophical formation, was that of keeping steadfast to the Testimonia, and therefore not to admit any word foreign to the Bible, including Homoousion.

So, there were Christians who believed in basing doctrine only on the Bible, but they did not attend Nicea or any of the later Councils. Mainly, if not only, those who seemed to accept “Greek philosophical formation” attended. Thus, no true Christian should consider that these Councils were called of God.

Constantine’s church historian, Eusebius, recorded the following details about Constantine convening that Council:

But before this time another most virulent disorder had existed, and long afflicted the Church; I mean the difference respecting the salutary feast of Easter{Passover}. For while one party asserted that the Jewish custom should be adhered to, the other affirmed that the exact recurrence of the period should be observed, without following the authority of those…

Then as if to bring a divine array against this enemy, he convoked a general council, and invited the speedy attendance of bishops from all quarters, in letters expressive of the honorable estimation in which he held them. Nor was this merely the issuing of a bare command but the emperor’s good will contributed much to its being carried into effect: for he allowed some the use of the public means of conveyance, while he afforded to others an ample supply of horses for their transport.  The place, too, selected for the synod, the city Nicæa in Bithynia… In effect, the most distinguished of God’s ministers from all the churches which abounded in Europe, Lybia, and Asia were here assembled… Constantine is the first prince of any age who bound together such a garland as this with the bond of peace, and presented it to his Saviour as a thank-offering for the victories he had obtained over every foe, thus exhibiting in our own times a similitude of the apostolic company…

The result was that they were not only united as concerning the faith, but that the time for the celebration of the salutary feast of Easter was agreed on by all…

What was the justification for this, or for Eusebius calling those who kept biblical practices “this enemy”?

Well, although the word Pascha (which means Passover) is mistranslated as Easter above and below, Constantine clearly felt that the Jews were detestable and that he did not want his church to follow practices like theirs. Notice what Constantine declared:

At this meeting the question concerning the most holy day of Easter {Passover} was discussed, and it was resolved by the united judgment of all present, that this feast ought to be kept by all and in every place on one and the same day. For what can be more becoming or honorable to us than that this feast from which we date our hopes of immortality, should be observed unfailingly by all alike, according to one ascertained order and arrangement? And first of all, it appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of this most holy feast we should follow the practice of the Jews, who have impiously defiled their hands with enormous sin, and are, therefore, deservedly afflicted with blindness of soul. For we have it in our power, if we abandon their custom, to prolong the due observance of this ordinance to future ages, by a truer order, which we have preserved from the very day of the passion until the present time. Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd; for we have received from our Saviour a different way. A course at once legitimate and honorable lies open to our most holy religion. Beloved brethren, let us with one consent adopt this course, and withdraw ourselves from all participation in their baseness.

It perhaps should be noted that Jesus kept Passover on the 14^th.  Calling the “Jewish crowd” detestable is not appropriate for real Christians. Jesus did not implement Sunday Passover as a “different way.” This is further evidence that those who are following Constantine’s decrees are not following those made by a true Christian.

The Greco-Roman Catholic Epiphanius, himself, actually admitted that the church used to observe the 14^th for Passover when he wrote:

Audians…they choose to celebrate the Passover with the Jews–that is they contentiously celebrate the Passover at the same time as the Jews are holding their Festival of Unleavened Bread. And indeed that this used to be the church’s custom.

Thus, Epiphanius seemed to realize that Passover on the 14^th was the original Passover date, even for the early Greco-Romans, since he wrote “this used to be the church’s custom.”  See also the article The Passover Plot.

So, the unity that came from the pagan emperor’s Council of Nicea was against the original faith and practices of Christians.

A 10^th-11^th century Islamic Arab document professes to have a Judeo-Christian perspective of the Council of Nicea. Here is some of what Shlomo Pines summarized from that Arabic report of that Council and one that preceded it:

Constantine called a gathering of Christian monks with a view to the formulation of obligatory religious beliefs…However, some of them disagreed with this text…There was a scission and the symbol of faith which had been formulated was not regarded as valid.

Thereupon, three hundred and eighteen men gathered in Nicaea and formulated a symbol of faith, which was accepted and made obligatory by Constantine. People who dissented from it were killed and professions of faith differing from it suppressed.

In this way people who professed the religion of Christ came to do all that is reprehensible; they worshipped the cross, observed the Roman religious rites and ate pork.  Those who did not eat it were killed. (Pines, pp. 32,43)

So, according to an Islamic reporter, there were Christians who were upset by the changes that Emperor Constantine enforced, such as crosses and Roman religious rites. Furthermore, the same reporter stated that the “Jewish Christians” denounced the use of incense in Christian churches as “an adaptation of a Pagan custom” and that they had to become a clandestine group.

Regarding this early time period, the theological historian Bart Ehrman noted:

By the early fourth century, Christianity had almost completely separated from Judaism, the religion of Jesus and his apostles…By early fourth century, non-Jewish Christianity had become a major world religion. (Ehrman B. From Jesus to Constantine: A History of Early Christianity, Part 2. The Teaching Company, Chantilly (VA), 2004, p. 47)

The church councils, first started by Emperor Constantine, really ended up with a new religion, which could be called “Constantinian Christianity.” Constantinian Christianity included elements of Greco-Roman compromises, a church-state alliance, and pagan elements synchronized to become the religion of the State.

Perhaps it should be mentioned, that according to Eastern Orthodox Catholic sources, at the time of the Council of Nicea in 325, “There is no mention of the bishop of Constantinople due to the fact that this “see” was as yet an insignificant little town” (^{Patsovas L. The Primacy of the See of Constantinople in Theory and Practice.  © 2010 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/primacy-constantinople viewed 02/09/10}).  But many of the Orthodox and others will overlook that.

Consider numerous Roman Catholic, Aramaic, Protestant, and  Eastern Orthodox translations of one verse in the Bible:

3 Dearly beloved, taking all care to write unto you concerning your common salvation, I was under a necessity to write unto you: to beseech you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. (Jude 3, DRB)

3 My dear friends, at a time when I was eagerly looking forward to writing to you about the salvation that we all share, I felt that I must write to you encouraging you to fight hard for the faith which has been once and for all entrusted to God’s holy people. (Jude 3, NJB)

3 My beloved, I write to you with all diligence concerning our common salvation, and it is needful that I should write and exhort you also to contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to the saints. (Jude 1-3, Lamsa Bible)

3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write to you about our common life, it was necessary for me to write to you, as I am to persuade you to compete for the faith, which was once delivered to The Holy Ones. (Jude 3, Aramaic Bible in Plain English)

3 I write to you and encourage you to continue your fight for the Christian faith that was entrusted to God’s holy people once for all time. (Jude 3, God’s Word Translation)

3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. (Jude 3 NKJV/OSB)

3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I felt it needful to write to you in order to encourage you to fight hard for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. (Jude 3 EOB)

If those that meet for the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea would really do that–do what their own accepted translation of the Bible say–it would be an exciting and great course of action.

Now, back in 2014, then Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople met together and announced an intended ecumenical meeting in honor of the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.:

May 29, 2014

Istanbul (AsiaNews) – On his return from Jerusalem , where he met with Pope Francis at the Holy Sepulchre, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, has revealed an important appointment for unity between Catholics and Orthodox: a gathering at Nicaea in 2025, where the first real ecumenical council of the undivided Church was celebrated.

Speaking exclusively with AsiaNews, Bartholomew says that together with Pope Francis “we agreed to leave as a legacy to ourselves and our successors a gathering in Nicaea in 2025, to celebrate together, after 17 centuries , the first truly ecumenical synod, where the Creed was first promulgated”. 
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Bartholomew:-With-Francis,-we-invite-all-Christians-to-celebrate-the-first-synod-of-Nicaea-in-2025-31213.html

As far as the Creed goes, it came from the later Council of Constantinople. For details you may wish to check out the article What Was the Original Apostles’ Creed? What is the Nicene Creed?

But note that Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew is referring to an ECUMENICAL synod.

September 10, 2024

Next May, Pope Francis will undertake a significant trip to Turkey, an event that promises to be both ecumenical as well as politically relevant. This journey, announced by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, will commemorate the 1700 years of the first Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, held in 325 in present day Iznik, Turkey.

Bartholomew I revealed that both religious leaders have agreed to celebrate this important anniversary at the end of May. Up to now, the Holy Father had mentioned this event as a possibility, but now the Patriarch has confirmed the date. This meeting will not only be a historical celebration, but also an opportunity for the Orthodox and Catholic Churches to discuss the possibility of unifying the date of Easter. At present, these Churches celebrate Easter on different dates, due to the use of the Gregorian (Catholics) and Julian (Orthodox) calendars. Although the Assembly of the Orthodox Bishops of Istanbul has shown its support to a common date, a concrete proposal is yet to be presented. In 2025, Easter will fall on the same day, April 20, for both Christian Traditions.

Pope Francis’ trip will have a broader framework, namely, the 2025 Ordinary Jubilee. https://zenit.org/2024/09/10/pope-francis-will-visit-turkey-in-may-2025-says-patriarch-of-constantinople/

Regarding Pope Francis’ “Jubilee” check out the following post from this earlier this Summer: ‘Pope Francis invites Orthodox delegation to participate in Jubilee 2025 and confesses he wants to go to Nicaea’ and Roman ‘Catholic church in Portland hosts Tibetan Buddhist monks for talk on non-Christian meditation’.

Back in 2014, we put together the following video:

The Continuing Church of God is pleased to announce our latest video on our Bible New Prophecy YouTube channel:

10:44

3rd Council of Nicea in 2025?

The first ecumenical Council of Nicea was in 325 A.D. The Second Council of Nicea began in 787 A.D. The Roman Catholic Pope Francis and the Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople have called for a meeting between the Orthodox and the Vatican to take place in the year 2025. What was the result of the earlier councils? Does the Bible support this 2025 meeting? What are some of the dangers?

Written information on the first Council of Nicea is included in the post Ecumenical meeting in Nicea planned for 2025: What happened in 325 and what could happen in/by 2025?

It still looks like this council will take place.

Now some may say, they believe ecumenical unity between the Catholics of Rome, the Eastern Orthodox Catholics, and Protestants is a good thing. And if they were intent on contending earnestly for “the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (June 3), it could be.

But it is not.

Now, what will be the result of the planned 2025 Council of Nicea?

As far as can be determined, both Pope Leo XIV and Patriarch Bartholomew hope that greater ecumenical unity will occur between their respective organizations.

According to an Eastern Orthodox seer the final (the Eastern Orthodox recognize seven previous ones) ecumenical synod council satisfies what “heretics” want:

Saint Neilos 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?

Will that happen in 2025?  It very well may–though perhaps only some parts will be updated related to unity. The Orthodox had called for an eighth ecumenical council in 2016, which could be this (see Orthodox agree to eighth ecumenical council: If Orthodox prophecy is correct on it, this council marks a major step towards the end!). But if not, it may be in 2025 or shortly thereafter some type of council will result in the type of ecumenical unity that Pope Leo XIV and Patriarch Bartholomew want.

Perhaps it should be noted that there are a lot of Roman Catholic private prophecies that point to further changing compromise by ecumenical efforts of that church. Here are a a few of them from by book The Last Pope of the Malachy Prophecies: Do Biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies Point to Pope Leo XIV?:

Roman Catholic prophecies warn that a major “antipope” and major schism is to come. Since there has not been a formally recognized antipope since the 15^th century, for numerous reasons these could be interpreted to mean that a 21^st century pope will be an antipope who will implement changes:

Anne Catherine Emmerick (May 13, 1820): I saw again a new and odd-looking Church which they were trying to build. There was nothing holy about it … THIS IS BABEL.[i]

Yves Dupont {writer interpreting A. Emmerick}: They wanted to make a new Church, a Church of human manufacture, but God had other designs … The Holy Father shall have to leave Rome, and he shall die a cruel death. An anti-pope shall be set up in Rome.[ii]

Anne Catherine Emmerich (January 12, 1820):  There is now some question of Protestants sharing in the government of the Catholic clergy.[iii]

Anne Catherine Emmerich (July 1820):  I came to the church of Peter and Paul (Rome) and saw a dark world of distress, confusion, and corruption…[iv]

Anne Catherine Emmerich (January 27, 1822):  I saw many Christians returning to the bosom of the Church, entering through the walls.  That Pope will be strict, he will remove the lukewarm, tepid Bishops—but it will be a long time before this happens.[v]

Anne Catherine Emmerich (October 22, 1822): I saw in Germany among the worldly-wise ecclesiastics, and enlightened Protestants, plans formed for the blending of all religious creeds …[vi]

Anne Catherine Emmerich (April, 1823): They built a large, singular, extravagant church which was to embrace all creeds with equal rights: Evangelicals, Catholics, and all denominations, a true communion of the unholy with one shepherd and one flock.  There was to be a Pope, a salaried Pope without possessions.[vii]

Melanie Mathieu (19^th century): Rome will lose faith and become the seat of Antichrist.[viii] …

Priest Paul Kramer (21^st century): The errors of Orthodoxy and of Protestantism will be embraced by that false church, it will be an ecumenical church because the Anti-Pope will be recognized by the world — not by the faithful, but by the world — by the secular world and the secular governments. The Anti-Pope will be recognized as the legitimate Pope of the “church,” and the legitimate head of the Vatican State. That “church” will be united with all the false religions.[ix]

Priest Paul Kramer (21^st century): The counterfeit “Catholic” Church — the counter-church, the anti-church — the mystery of the dragon, whose tail swept down a third of the “stars of Heaven,” i.e. one third of the Catholic hierarchy under the leadership of a heretical antipope.[x]

[i] Dupont, pp. 60, 116

[ii] Dupont, p. 116

[iii] ^{Emmerich AC. The Life and Revelations of Anne Catherine Emmerich. Schmöger edition, Vol. II. Approbation: Bishop of Limbourg Peter Joseph. Reprint TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1976, p.274}

[iv] ^{Ibid, p.130}

[v] ^{Ibid, p. 344}

[vi] ^{Ibid, p. 346}

[vii] ^{Ibid, p. 353}

[viii] ^{Culligan E. The Last World War and the End of Time. The book was blessed by Pope Paul VI, 1966. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), pp. 173.  Note this was approved for publication by the Catholic Bishop of Lecce, Italy in 1879 per Culligan, p. 169}

[ix] Kramer P. The Imminent Chastisement for Not Fulfilling Our Lady’s Request. An edited transcript of a speech given at the Ambassadors of Jesus and Mary Seminar in Glendale, California, September 24, 2004. THE FATIMA CRUSADER Issue 80, Summer 2005, pp. 32-45 http://www.fatimacrusader.com/cr80/cr80pg32.asp viewed 4/15/08

[x] ^{Kramer P. The Third Secret Reveals the Great Chastisement. The Fatima Crusader, 77, Summer 2004, p. 4}

Now, let me add that some Roman Catholic writings look forward to this change as they believe it will result in the end of Protestantism and the reign of their church. The following are also in my book The Last Pope of the Malachy Prophecies: Do Biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies Point to Pope Leo XIV?:

Notice what some other Roman Catholics have written about future ecumenical plans:

Oba Prophecy: It will come when the Church authorities issue directives to support a new cult, when priests are forbidden to celebrate in any other, when the highest positions in the Church are given to perjurers and hypocrites, when only the renegades are admitted to occupy those positions.[i]

D.A. Birch (20^th century): “The Pope calls an Ecumenical Council which will be viewed as the greatest in the history of the Church. The world is spiritually and materially prosperous as never before and many Jews, Mohammedans, heathens and heretics will enter the Church”.[ii] …

The Bible … teaches that the successful ecumenical religion (Revelation 13:4,8) will not have God’s approval (Revelation 14,18).

Yet, certain private prophecies seem to praise the success of this ecumenical movement:

Blessed Anna-Maria Taigi (19th century): Whole nations will come back to the Church and the face of the earth will be renewed. Russia … and China will come into the Church.[iii]

St. Bridget (14th century): Before Antichrist comes, the portals of Faith will be opened to great numbers of pagans.[iv]

Venerable Magdalene Porzat (died 1850) (Great Monarch) … shall … restore to their dominions the legitimate kings. A just and pious man born in Galacia shall be the Supreme Pontiff: then the whole world will be united and prosperous. One faith only and one emperor shall reign over the whole earth.[v]

Cardinal La Roque (c. 18th century): A regeneration of Faith will appear in Asia.[vi]

Mother Alphonse Eppinger (1867): After God has purified the world faith and peace will return. Whole nations will adhere to the teachings of the Catholic Church.[vii]

[i] Dupont, p. 115

[ii] Birch, p. 555

[iii] Dupont, p.45

[iv] Birch, 449

[v] Connor, p. 38

[vi] Culleton, The Prophets and Our Times, p. 193

[vii] Connor, p.25

The type of ecumenical unity that came from the original Council of Nicea was terrible as it ruled against beliefs and practices of the original Christian church.

There is no reason to believe that a possible meeting there in 2025 will result in true good. Let me add that the World Council of Churches has also been preparing for this 1700th anniversary of Nicea.

All should contend earnestly for the original faith. I pray that Pope Leo XIV and Patriarch Bartholomew will do so.

Before going further, let me state that I am pleased that Pope Leo XIV has come out and confirmed the original Christian view on genders–which was Jesus’ position (cf. Matthew 19:4).

As far as ecumenism goes, however, the Bible teaches that the only true unity of the faith will happen AFTER the false ecumenical movement is eliminated which happens with the return of Jesus Christ (e.g. Zechariah 2:6-11).

What certain religious leaders are trying to do related to Nicea is not the will of God. But likely will result in the fulfillment of certain biblical prophecies.

The ‘Mary’ in the Basilica of Mary Major That Pope Francis Prayed To
(Photo by Joyce Thiel, June 2013)

COGwriter

The Associated Press (AP) posted the following:

Why popes and other Catholics pray to the Virgin Mary

May 17, 2025

Pope Leo XIV closed his first public blessing as pontiff with a Hail Mary, after invoking the feast day of Our Lady of Pompei. On his first papal trip, he went to the Sanctuary of Our Mother of Good Counsel in the medieval village of Genazzano and on the drive back stopped to pray by Pope Francis’ tomb in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

That’s just three of a myriad Virgin Marys around the world, whose veneration is central to Catholics from the pope to the ordinary faithful. Even many of the less-than-devout know what it means to throw a Hail Mary.

The month of May is dedicated to Marian celebrations, …

The oldest title for Mary is precisely “mother of God,” or Theotokos in the original Greek. It was chosen after heated theological debate in the first centuries of Christianity.

St. Mary Major is the oldest still-standing sanctuary dedicated to that, said Giuseppe Falanga, professor of liturgy at Pontificia Universita della Santa Croce in Rome. It was built on one of Rome’s hills in the 5th century — according to tradition, because of the pope’s dream and an August snowfall there on what is now also celebrated as the day of Our Lady of the Snows. …

There are three major categories of titles for Mary — first, those related to dogma and major events in her life.

The Assumption on Aug. 15, for instance, celebrates Mary being taken body and soul into heaven. …

Then there are titles related to apparitions. …

“It’s almost like there’s a Mary for everything,” said Kayla Harris, professor and director of Marian Library at University of Dayton in Ohio.

It’s also why the rosary is one of the most widely used prayers …

It’s that relatability as a mother figure that makes Mary so universally appealing as an intercessor before God, Harris said.

Since the 19th century, May has been devoted to the Virgin Mary — though already in Greek and Roman times, goddesses of fertility were celebrated in this month of springtime blooming, she added. https://apnews.com/article/pope-leo-xiv-pope-francis-virgin-mary-rosary-rome-6ae8d6e94b83837f0a5fe74af85c1b6c

On the day in 2013 Francis became pope, he went and knelt down before the image claimed to be of Jesus’ mother Mary in the church known as the Basilica of Mary Major (officially called Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore). He also went and prayed to that image before and after his foreign trips. My wife Joyce and I visited that Basilica in June of 2013 and asked a nun there where it was that Pope Francis would kneel and pray there. She pointed to the location shown in the photo at the beginning of this post. Pope Francis was interned there after his death.

That said, calling Mary “Theotokos ” was NOT an original belief or practice.

Roman Catholic scholars admit prior to the 4th century (which is when the Council of Nicea was) that there was not much related to Marian veneration, but they suspect that it may have existed. Thus, it was NOT documented as a part of the original faith nor among the earliest faithful traditions. This is a MAJOR CHANGE, then, as Marian adoration is a big deal within the faith that now calls itself “Catholic.”

In the late fourth century, the Greco-Roman Catholic Bishop Epiphanius warned that some were worshipping Mary and were causing ”excess awe of the saint” (Epiphanius. Section VII, pp. 618-629)–he thus seemed to clearly condemn what is now referred to by Roman Catholics as veneration of Mary.

And in the fifth century, another Bishop complained that “If Mary is called the Mother of God, she will be made into a goddess…” (Chapman, John. “Nestorius and Nestorianism.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 4 Aug. 2011 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10755a.htm>).

Yet, the term started to pop-up, perhaps as early as the third century “from the Alexandrian Bishop Alexander, head of the Egyptian Church” (Mark Miravalle, Raymond L. Burke; (2008). Mariology: A Guide for Priests, Deacons, Seminarians, and Consecrated Persons ISBN 978-1-57918-355-4 p. 178). Perhaps it should be mentioned that, the term Theόtokos, as such, is even older than Christianity and has a pagan origin” (Miravalle, p. 178)–Theόtokos means “God bearer.”

We in the Continuing Church of God do teach that Mary was the mother of Jesus and that Jesus is now God. However, since Mary cannot grant divinity and Jesus emptied Himself of His divinity when He came in the flesh (Philippians 2:7) and did not retain it until after His resurrection (cf. John 20:28), we do not use the expression “God-bearer” or “Mother of God” to describe Mary.

Holy Scripture does not contain the explicit titled, “Mother of God.” (Mark Miravalle, Raymond L. Burke; (2008). Mariology: A Guide for Priests, Deacons, Seminarians, and Consecrated Persons ISBN 978-1-57918-355-4 p. 170)

Scholar Jesse Hurlbut observed:

About 405 A.D. images of saints and martyrs began to appear in the churches, adored, worshiped. The adoration of the Virgin Mary was substituted for the worship of Venus and Diana (Hurlbut, JL. The Story of the Christian Church. Zondervan, 1967, p.62).

Therefore it should be clear that Marian worship/veneration was not originally part of the catholic faith, but was a later innovation that even some with ties to that faith denounced. Bowing down before images of Mary is a form of idolatry, thus much Marian veneration is essentially the same as Marian worship.

Here is some of what Wikipedia reports about that picture at the beginning of this post:

Salus Populi Romani (English: Salvific Health of the Roman People) is a Roman Catholic title associated with the venerated image of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Rome.
… in the year 1240 it began to be called Regina Caeli (English: “Queen of Heaven”) (Salus Populi Romani. Wikipedia, accessed 04/25/25)

So, this icon was named the ‘Queen of Heaven.’

The Bible warns against burning incense to the Queen of Heaven (Jeremiah 44), but many Roman Catholics do that with scented candles in various of their churches.

As far as the date of August 15th for the claimed Assumption of Mary, that was the same date that pagans celebrated the return to heaven by the goddess Diana–the two dates are NOT coincidental, but on purpose.

Thérèse at age 15

COGwriter

The Bible prophesies that there will be signs and lying wonders:

9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,

10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,

12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

Now, consider that Thérèse of Lisieux was canonized as a Roman Catholic saint on May 17, 1925, by Pope Pius XI. She died in 1897. She became quite popular in the 20th century and is still popular now.

Her remains have traveled the world. They have been viewed, adored, worshiped and prayed to by various Roman Catholics in more than 40 nations. Some claim her remains have even restored sight to the blind. Several years ago, about two million turned out to see St. Terese’s remains when they were in Ireland (The Independent, August 23, 2009).

Here is some of what Catholic OnLine reported about her:

Over the years, some modern Catholics have turned away from her because they associate her with over- sentimentalized piety…

Therese became so ill with a fever that people thought she was dying. The worst part of it for Therese was all the people sitting around her bed staring at her like, she said, “a string of onions.” When Therese saw her sisters praying to statue of Mary in her room, Therese also prayed. She saw Mary smile at her and suddenly she was cured. She tried to keep the grace of the cure secret but people found out and badgered her with questions about what Mary was wearing, what she looked like. When she refused to give in to their curiosity, they passed the story that she had made the whole thing up…

Every time Therese even imagined that someone was criticizing her or didn’t appreciate her, she burst into tears. Then she would cry because she had cried! Any inner wall she built to contain her wild emotions crumpled immediately before the tiniest comment. http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=105

Both biblical (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12) and non-biblical sources suggest that signs and wonders will deceive many at the end. I believe that she, partially because of her promoting her false view of Jesus’ mother Mary, but also because of other false doctrines she promoted, has been used as part of Satan’s Plan.

Some of the warnings of the Bible about lying wonders will likely involve apparitions claiming to be Mary as well as people who have claimed to somehow see Mary.

The prevalence of such claims this century even caused the Vatican to issue statements and policies warning against many of them (see Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions).

It needs to be emphasized that just because a Roman Catholic nun claims to have seen Mary and passes on messages, that this does not mean that the messages are from God–and even the Church of Rome teaches that (for some documentation please see Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies: Do They Mirror, Highlight, or Contradict Biblical Prophecies?).

In August 1895, in her “Canticle to the Holy Face” Thérèse wrote:

“Jesus, Your ineffable image is the star which guides my steps. Ah, You know, Your sweet Face is for me Heaven on earth. My love discovers the charms of Your Face adorned with tears. I smile through my own tears when I contemplate Your sorrows”. (Wikipedia)

This should set off warnings to all as the reality is that she never actually saw Jesus’ face/image, hence to claim that it was His image that guided her steps cannot be correct.

The Apostle John wrote:

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).

And that is what all should do. God’s true prophets do not ever claim God told them something and then been shown to have been in error.

Thérèse of Lisieux is popularly known as “The Little Flower of Jesus” or “The Little Flower.” She was declared a Roman Catholic ‘doctor of the church’ in 1997.

Pope Francis once claimed that the deceased Thérèse of Lisieux responded to his request for peace through his version of ‘Mary’ back in 2013:

On Sunday 8 September, the day after the long prayer vigil for peace in Syria – when some passages from texts written by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux were read out – Pope Francis received a white rose as a surprise. Francis considers the flower to be a “sign” linked to the devotion of the saint. The Archbishop of Ancona and Osimo, Edoardo Menichelli broke the news, with Francis authorisation…

“The Pope told me he received the freshly-picked white rose out of the blue from a gardener as he was taking a stroll in the Vatican Gardens on Sunday 8 September,” Mgr. Menichelli said. “The Pope sees this flower as a “sign”, a “message” from Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, whom he had turned to in a moment of worry the day before.”…

Bergoglio mentions it in “El Jesuita” (“The Jesuit”), a book interview written by Sergio Rubin and Francesca Ambrogetti when he was still a cardinal. In a description the two journalists give of Bergoglio’s library in Buenos Aires, they write: “We pause before a vase full of white roses standing on a shelf in the library. In front of it is a photograph of Saint Thérèse. “Whenever I have a problem,” Bergoglio explained to the journalists, “I ask the saint not to solve it, but to take it into her hands and to help me accept it and I almost always receive a white rose as a sign.” Pope Francis’ devotion for the Carmelite mystic who died at the young age of 24 in 1897, was canonized by Pius XI and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by John Paul II in 1997, is common knowledge. http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/28151/

So, we have heard about supposed ‘signs’ associated with Pope Francis. This should give pause to those in the real Church of God as we know more are coming with an end time pontiff:

24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. (Matthew 24:24-25; cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).

Pope Francis was a big promoter of Mary as well as the apparition in Fatima. He consecrated his pontificate to ‘Mary’ and even further had his pontificate consecrated to the Lady of Fatima (Pope Francis’ pontificate consecrated to ‘Lady of Fatima’). Now as far as ‘peace’ coming to Syria, what happened back in 2013 is that the USA decided not to intervene militarily because of Syrian use of chemical weapons–this did not lead to peace–instead it got opposition leaders to Syria’s President Assad to turn further away from the USA, and ultimately support the group calling itself the Islamic State. Thus, the flower ‘sign’ that Pope Francis allegedly received from Thérèse of Lisieux was not of God.

Thérèse of Lisieux was not a true prophet of God (see How To Determine If Someone is a True Prophet of God), but instead is one of many throughout history that seems to have been used to set people up for the deception that is still going to come (Matthew 24:24) who do not truly have the “love of the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12).

That said, notice the following:

The Vatican’s doctrine office will publish a new document … on discerning Marian apparitions and other supernatural events. …

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), will unveil new norms for discernment regarding “apparitions and other supernatural phenomena” on Friday, May 17.

In an interview with the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, last month, Fernandez said that the document will provide “clear guidelines and norms” for discernment.

The new norms will be the first time that the Vatican’s doctrinal office has issued a general document on apparitions in four decades. Pope Paul VI approved norms on “the discernment of presumed apparitions or revelations” in 1978. 05/-7/24 https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257600/vatican-to-publish-new-document-on-marian-apparitions-next-week

What those guidelines SHOULD SAY would be that 1) the dead know nothing (Ecclesiastes 9:5) hence are not appearing 2) messages that contradict the Bible are fraudulent and may come from demons, and 3) likely all Roman Catholic accepted apparitions are demonic or frauds.

Now here is what they do say in a document with today’s date at the Vatican’s website:

These six possible determinations allow the Dicastery and the Bishops to handle in a suitable manner the issues that arise in connection with the diverse cases they encounter.

As a rule, these potential conclusions do not include the possibility of declaring that the phenomenon under discernment is of supernatural origin—that is, affirming with moral certainty that it originates from a decision willed by God in a direct way. Instead, as Pope Benedict XVI explained, granting a Nihil obstat simply indicates that the faithful “are authorized to give [the phenomenon] their adhesion in a prudent manner.” Since a Nihil obstat does not declare the events in question to be supernatural, it becomes even more apparent—as Pope Benedict XVI also said—how the phenomenon is only “a help which is proffered, but its use is not obligatory.”^[5] At the same time, this response naturally leaves open the possibility that, in monitoring how the devotion develops, a different response may be required in the future.

Moreover, it should be noted that reaching a declaration affirming the “supernaturalness” of an event, by its very nature, not only requires a suitable amount of time to carry out the analysis but it can also lead to the possibility that a judgment of “supernatural” today might become a judgment of “not supernatural” years later—and precisely this has happened. An example worth recalling is a case involving alleged apparitions from the 1950s. In 1956, the Bishop issued a final judgment of “not supernatural,” and the following year, the Holy Office approved the Bishop’s decision. Then, the approval of that veneration was sought again. In 1974, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declared the alleged apparitions to be “constat de non supernaturalitate.” Thereafter, in 1996, the local Bishop positively recognized the devotion, and in 2002, another Bishop from the same place recognized the “supernatural origin” of the apparitions, leading to the spread of the devotion to other countries. Finally, in 2020, at the request of the Congregation, a new Bishop reiterated the Congregation’s earlier “negative judgment,” requiring the cessation of any public disclosures regarding the alleged apparitions and revelations. Thus, it took about seventy excruciating years to bring the whole matter to a conclusion.

Today, we have come to the conviction that such complicated situations, which create confusion among the faithful, should always be avoided. This can be accomplished by ensuring a quicker and clearer involvement of this Dicastery and by preventing the impression that the discernment process would be directed toward a declaration of “supernaturalness” (which carries high expectations, anxieties, and even pressures). Instead, as a rule, such declarations of “supernaturalness” are replaced either by a Nihil obstat, which authorizes positive pastoral work, or by another determination that is suited to the specific situation.

The procedures outlined in the new Norms, which offer six possible final prudential decisions, make it possible to reach a decision in a more reasonable period, helping the Bishop to manage a situation involving events of alleged supernatural origin before such occurrences—without a necessary ecclesial discernment—acquire very problematic dimensions.

Nevertheless, the possibility always remains that the Holy Father may intervene exceptionally by authorizing a procedure that includes the possibility of declaring the supernaturalness of the events. Yet, this is an exception that has been made only rarely in recent centuries.

At the same time, as stipulated in the new Norms, the possibility of declaring an event as “not supernatural” remains, but only when there are objective signs that clearly indicate manipulation at the basis of the phenomenon. For instance, this might occur when an alleged visionary admits to having lied or when evidence shows that the blood on a crucifix belongs to the alleged visionary. …

10. By following the Norms below, the Church will be able to fulfill its duty of discerning: (a) whether signs of a divine action can be ascertained in phenomena that are alleged to be of supernatural origin; (b) whether there is that anything conflicts with faith and morals in the writings or messages of those involved in the alleged phenomena in question; (c) whether it is permissible to appreciate their spiritual fruits, whether they need to be purified from problematic elements, or whether the faithful should be warned about potential risks; (d) whether it is advisable for the competent ecclesiastical authority to realize their pastoral value.

11. While the following provisions foresee the possibility of a discernment in the sense described in Par. 10 (above), it must be noted that, as a general rule, it is not foreseen in these Norms that ecclesiastical authority would give a positive recognition of the divine origin of alleged supernatural phenomena.

12. Whenever a Nihil obstat is granted by the Dicastery (cf. Par. 17, below), such phenomena do not become objects of faith, which means the faithful are not obliged to give an assent of faith to them. Rather, as in the case of charisms recognized by the Church, they are “ways to deepen one’s knowledge of Christ and to give oneself more generously to him, while rooting oneself more and more deeply in communion with the entire Christian people.”^[15]

13. Even when a Nihil obstat is granted for canonization processes, this does not imply a declaration of authenticity regarding any supernatural phenomena present in a person’s life. This is evident, for instance, in the decree of canonization of St. Gemma Galgani: “[Pius XI] feliciter elegit ut super heroicis virtutibus huius innocentis aeque ac poenitentis puellae suam mentem panderet, nullo tamen per praesens decretum (quod quidem numquam fieri solet) prolato iudicio de praeternaturalibus Servae Dei charismatibus.”^[16]

14. At the same time, it should also be acknowledged that some phenomena, which could have a supernatural origin, at times appear connected to confused human experiences, theologically inaccurate expressions, or interests that are not entirely legitimate.

15. The discernment of alleged supernatural phenomena is carried out from the start by the Diocesan Bishop (or by another ecclesiastical authority mentioned in Part II, Arts. 4-6) in dialogue with the Dicastery. However, since special attention to the common good of the entire People of God can never be lacking, “the Dicastery reserves the right to evaluate the moral and doctrinal elements of that spiritual experience and the use that is being made of it.”^[17] It is important not to overlook that sometimes the discernment may also deal with problems, such as delicts, manipulation, damage to the unity of the Church, undue financial gain, and serious doctrinal errors that could cause scandals and undermine the credibility of the Church.

B. Conclusions

16. The discernment of alleged supernatural phenomena may reach conclusions that are usually expressed in one of the terms listed below.

17. Nihil obstat – Without expressing any certainty about the supernatural authenticity of the phenomenon itself, many signs of the action of the Holy Spirit are acknowledged “in the midst”^[18] of a given spiritual experience, and no aspects that are particularly critical or risky have been detected, at least so far. For this reason, the Diocesan Bishop is encouraged to appreciate the pastoral value of this spiritual proposal, and even to promote its spread, including possibly through pilgrimages to a sacred site.

18. Prae oculis habeatur – Although important positive signs are recognized, some aspects of confusion or potential risks are also perceived that require the Diocesan Bishop to engage in a careful discernment and dialogue with the recipients of a given spiritual experience. If there were writings or messages, doctrinal clarification might be necessary.

19. Curatur – While various or significant critical elements are noted, at the same time, the phenomenon has already spread widely, and there are verifiable spiritual fruits connected to it. In this situation, a ban that could upset the People of God is not recommended. Nevertheless, the Diocesan Bishop is asked not to encourage this phenomenon but to seek out alternative expressions of devotion and possibly reorient its spiritual and pastoral aspects.

20. Sub mandato – In this category, the critical issues are not connected to the phenomenon itself, which is rich in positive elements, but to a person, a family, or a group of people who are misusing it. For instance, the spiritual experience may be exploited for particular and undue financial gain, committing immoral acts, or carrying out a pastoral activity apart from the one already present in the ecclesiastical territory without accepting the instructions of the Diocesan Bishop. In this situation, the pastoral leadership of the specific place where the phenomenon is occurring is entrusted to the Diocesan Bishop (or to another person delegated by the Holy See), who, if unable to intervene directly, will try to reach a reasonable agreement.

21. Prohibetur et obstruatur – While there are legitimate requests and some positive elements, the critical issues and risks associated with this phenomenon appear to be very serious. Therefore, to prevent further confusion or even scandal that could erode the faith of ordinary people, the Dicastery asks the Diocesan Bishop to declare publicly that adherence to this phenomenon is not allowed. At the same time, the Diocesan Bishop is asked to offer a catechesis that can help the faithful understand the reasons for the decision and reorient the legitimate spiritual concerns of that part of the People of God.

22. Declaratio de non supernaturalitate – In this situation, the Dicastery authorizes the Diocesan Bishop to declare that the phenomenon is found to be not supernatural. This decision must be based on facts and evidence that are concrete and proven. For instance, if an alleged visionary admits to having lied or if credible witnesses provide elements of proof that allow one to discover that the phenomenon was based on fabrication, an erroneous intention, or mythomania.

23. In light of the aforementioned points, it is reaffirmed that, as a rule, neither the Diocesan Bishop, nor the Episcopal Conferences, nor the Dicastery will declare that these phenomena are of supernatural origin, even if a Nihil obstat is granted (cf. Par. 11, above). It remains true, however, that the Holy Father can authorize a special procedure in this regard. https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2024/05/17/0403/00842.html#en

The above misses many scriptural points.

Yet, because signs and lying wonders are prophesied to occur, the document above will allow for demonic source messages to be accepted, though it will not say demonic.

And yes, I expect ‘Marian apparitions’ in the future that will deceive many.

Some items of related interest may include:

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 Eastern/Greek Orthodox view Mary? How might Mary view her adorers? Here is a link to a YouTube video Marian Apparitions May Fulfill Prophecy. Here is a link to a sermon video: Why Learn About Fatima?
Satan’s Plan Does Satan have a plan? What is it? Has it already been successful? Will it be successful in the future? Here are links to a two-part sermon series: What are Some of the Parts of Satan’s Plan? and Satan’s Plan is More Dramatic than Many Realize.
The Great Monarch: Biblical and Catholic Prophecies Is the ‘Great Monarch’ of Catholic prophecies endorsed or condemned by the Bible? Two sermons of related interest are also available: Great Monarch: Messiah or False Christ? and Great Monarch in 50+ Beast Prophecies.
Feast of the Immaculate Conception? Did early Christians teach Mary had an immaculate conception and led a sinless life?
Origin of the Marian Dogmas: Where Do Catholic Scholars Say The Four Dogmas of Mary Came From?
Assumption of Mary Did Mary die? Was she taken to heaven on August 15th? What is known? What does the Bible show?
The ‘Lady’ of Guadalupe: Any Future Ramifications? It is claimed that a female apparition appeared near Mexico City on December 12, 1531. How has it affected the world? What might it suggest about the future? A video of related interest is titled: The ‘Lady of Guadalupe’ and Prophecy.
Pope Francis: Could this Marian Focused Pontiff be Fulfilling Prophecy? Pope Francis has taken many steps to turn people more towards his version of ‘Mary.’ Could this be consistent with biblical and Catholic prophecies? This article documents what has been happening. There is also a video version titled Pope Francis: Could this Marian Focused Pontiff be Fulfilling Prophecy?
Fatima Shock! What the Vatican Does Not Want You to Know About Fatima, Dogmas of Mary, and Future Apparitions. Whether or not you believe anything happened at Fatima, if you live long enough, you will be affected by its ramifications (cf. Isaiah 47; Revelation 17). Fatima Shock! provides concerned Christians with enough Catholic-documented facts to effectively counter every false Marian argument. In addition to the print version, there is a Kindle version of Fatima Shock! which you can acquire in seconds.
Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies: Do They Mirror, Highlight, or Contradict Biblical Prophecies? People of all faiths may be surprised to see what various Roman and Orthodox Catholic prophets have been predicting as many of their predictions will be looked to in the 21st century.
The Falling Away: The Bible and WCG Teachings Who is 2 Thessalonians 2:3 referring to? Are there multiple falling aways? Here is a related link in Spanish/español: La Apostasía: Enseñanzas de la Biblia y de la WCG. There are also two YouTube videos on the subject that you can watch The Falling Away Part 1: From the Bible and Church History and The Falling Away Part 2: Positions Presented by Others.
Who is the Man of Sin of 2 Thessalonians 2? Is this the King of the North, the ten-horned beast of Revelation 13:1-11, or the two-horned Beast of Revelation 13:12-16? Some rely on traditions, but what does the Bible teach? Here is a related link in Spanish/español: ¿Quién es el Hombre de Pecado de 2 Tesalonicenses 2?; here is a link to a video in Spanish: ¿Quién es el ‘hombre de pecado’? Here is a version in Mandarin: N;ÿ Œ
f/’Y’jNº’ÿ Here is a link to a related English sermon video titled: The Man of Sin will deceive most ‘Christians’.
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. You can also watch a video titled What Does the Bible teach about the Antichrist?
Does the CCOG have the confirmed signs of Acts 2:17-18? Does any church have the confirmed dream and prophetic signs of Acts 2:17-18? Should one? Here is a link in the Spanish language: ¿Tiene la CCOG confirmadas las señales de Hechos 2: 17-18? Here is a link in the French language: Est-ce que l’Église Continue de Dieu confirme les signes d’Actes 2:17-18?
Church of God Leaders on Prophets Have there been prophets throughout the church age? Are any supposed to be around in the last days? What have COG leaders stated or written about prophets? Here is a link to a related sermon: Church of God Leaders on Prophets.
How To Determine If Someone is a True Prophet of God There are many false prophets. How can Christians determine who is a true prophet? There is also a sermon-length video titled How to determine if someone is a true prophet of God. Here is a related link in Spanish/español: ¿Cómo determinar si alguien es un verdadero profeta de Dios?
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.

Logo of the Chaldean Catholic Patriarche
(Via Wikipedia)

COGwriter

Pope Leo XIV met with leaders from the ‘Churches of the East’ this week:

Eastern church leaders welcome election of Pope Leo XIV

May 16, 2025

Church leaders in the Christian East welcomed the election of Pope Leo XIV on May 8, noting his first words to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square were about peace.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople was at an event in his honor in Athens when he learned of the election, according to a report in The Orthodox Times. …

The ecumenical patriarch, who had hoped to visit Iznik, Turkey, with Francis in May to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, said he hoped Leo would “combine a visit to Nicaea with an official visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, on the occasion of our feast of St. Andrew on Nov. 30.” https://www.ncronline.org/news/eastern-church-leaders-welcome-election-pope-leo-xiv

It was the Council of Nicea that declared that certain aspects of original Christianity be officially changed. This was not a proper Christian things to do. Nor is it to celebrate that. True Christians, according to the Bible are to diligently contend for the original faith:

1 JUDE, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to the Gentiles who have been called and are beloved by God the Father and are protected by Jesus Christ: 2 Mercy and peace, with love, be multiplied to you. 3 My beloved, I write to you with all diligence concerning our common salvation, and it is needful that I should write and exhort you also to contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to the saints. (Jude 1-3, Lamsa Bible)

3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write to you about our common life, it was necessary for me to write to you, as I am to persuade you to compete for the faith, which was once delivered to The Holy Ones. (Jude 3, Aramaic Bible in Plain English)

3 My dear friends, at a time when I was eagerly looking forward to writing to you about the salvation that we all share, I felt that I must write to you encouraging you to fight hard for the faith which has been once and for all entrusted to God’s holy people. (Jude New Jerusalem Bible)

Note the three above are used by various “Churches of the East” (including the first group which is NOT in communion with the Church of Rome) with the last one a Roman Catholic translation.

Anyway, those at Nicea agreed to changes that were NOT part of the “faith once delivered to the saints.”

That said, here is more related to Pope Leo XIV’s visits with leaders from the ‘Churches of the East’  (bolding in source):

May 15, 2025

Pope Leo XIV welcomed Eastern Catholics to the Vatican with the traditional Easter greeting, “Christ is risen! He is truly risen!”

Addressing the faithful from the 23 sui iuris Churches in full communion with Rome, … “The Church needs you!” Pope Leo said. “The contribution that the Christian East can offer us today is immense,” … “It is vital then, that you preserve your traditions without attenuating them,” he said. …

“Who better than you,” he asked, “can sing a song of hope even amid the abyss of violence.” …

He went on to thank God for all those who are “sowing peace,” …

“Today more than ever,” concluded Pope Leo XIV, “the splendour of the Christian East demands freedom from all worldly attachments, and from every tendency contrary to communion, in order to remain faithful in obedience and in evangelical witness.” https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-05/pope-leo-xiv-to-eastern-catholics-the-church-needs-you.html

May 14, 2025

On the morning of Wednesday, May 14, the Pope received in a special audience in the Paul VI Hall of the Vatican City Catholics from various Eastern rites, accompanied by their Patriarchs, Major Archbishops, and clergy. … We now offer the English translation of the Pope’s words.

I would also like to mention Pope Leo XIII, the first Pope to devote a specific document to the dignity of your Churches, inspired above all by the fact that, in his words, “the work of human redemption began in the East” (cf. Apostolic Letter Orientalium Dignitas, 30 November 1894). Truly, you have “a unique and privileged role as the original setting where the Church was born” (SAINT JOHN PAUL II, Orientale Lumen, 5). It is significant that several of your liturgies – which you are now solemnly celebrating in Rome in accordance with your various traditions – continue to use the language of the Lord Jesus. … Over a century ago, Leo XIII pointed out that “preserving the Eastern rites is more important than is generally realized”. (Pope asks to define principles, norms, and guidelines for Latin rite priests accompanying Eastern rite Catholics arriving in the West. ZENIT, May 14, 2025 https://zenit.org/2025/05/14/pope-asks-to-define-principles-norms-and-guidelines-for-latin-rite-priests-accompanying-eastern-rite-catholics-arriving-in-the-west/)

Yes, the Church of Rome needs to return to the original beliefs–that would help more than immensely. We have an e-book that would assist the Vatican: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession?

Who better than those who hold to the beliefs of the original catholic church, those of us who have remained pacifists, can sing a song of hope even amid the abyss of violence? That would be us of the Continuing Church of God! See also Military Service and the Churches of God: Do Real Christians Participate in Carnal Warfare or Encourage Violence? We are sowing peace, not attached to politics of this world, and faithfully looking for the coming Kingdom of God. But telling the Eastern Churches not to attenuate, it seems like Pope Leo XIV is unknowingly advocating for Jude 3.

Note that while the ORIGINAL eastern rite practices should be retained, what is happening in those eastern churches in communion with the Church of Rome is NOT that. Nor do they speak quite the same language as Jesus did (Was the New Testament Written in Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic?)–they speak Syriac Aramaic, whereas Jesus spoke Palestinian Aramaic.

But we in the CCOG do hold to the liturgy and rites of the ORIGINAL CHURCH OF THE EAST.

Regarding what else could be called the Church of the East, the 17th century historian and Sunday-keeper William Cave reported that the early Christians, both Jews and those in the east, kept the Sabbath:

… the Sabbath or Saturday (for so the word sabbatum is constantly used in the writings of the fathers, when speaking of it as it relates to Christians) was held by them in great veneration, and especially in the Eastern parts honoured with all the public solemnities of religion. For which we are to know, that the gospel in those parts mainly prevailing amongst the Jews, they being generally the first converts to the Christian faith, they still retained a mighty reverence for the Mosaic institutions, and especially for the sabbath, as that which had been appointed by God himself, (as the memorial of his rest from the week of creation,) settled by their great master Moses, and celebrated by their ancestors for so many ages, as the solemn day of their public worship, and were therefore very loth that it should be wholly antiquated and laid aside. … they assembled on Saturdays, not that they were infected with Judaism, but only to worship Jesus Christ, the Lord of the sabbath. …

Thus stood the case in the Eastern Church; (Cave William, D.D. Primitive Christianity: or the Religion of the Ancient Christians in the First Ages of the Gospel. 1840 edition revised by H. Cary. Oxford, London, pp. 83-85)

Notice also the following 19th century report:

There has been no period since the time of Christ when there were not Sabbath-keeping Christians in the church … 302 A.D. From that time until English missionaries entered Armenia early in the present century, Sabbath keeping continued without interruption. The … Chaldean Christians have also continued their original practice of Sabbath keeping through the present century. (Sanford EB. A Concise Cyclopedia of Religious Knowledge: Biblical, Biographical, Geographical, Historical, Practical and Theological. S.S. Scranton, 1890, pp. 853,854)

Commenting on that 19th century report, then evangelist in the Worldwide Church of God Dean Blackwell wrote, “They were the ancestors” (Blackwell D. A HANDBOOK OF CHURCH HISTORY: A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Ambassador College Graduate School of Theology. April 1973, p. 182)–meaning they were the spiritual ancestors of certain later faithful Sabbatarian Christians.

That said, it should be pointed out that the Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church which is in full communion with the Pope in Rome. Like other Greco-Roman Catholic churches, it observes Sunday as the day of worship.

Roman Catholic priest Malachi Martin lived and worked in Vatican City for years. He was deeply involved in researching and writing about Church history, theology, and the inner workings of the Roman Catholic Church. He wrote:

Jewish Christians … occupied the oldest Christian churches in the Middle East and whose leaders were always from the family of Jesus himself.  … their first bishop was James, first cousin of Jesus. …

Jewish Christians had composed the only church ever in Jerusalem until the year 135. … Jewish Christian churches were set up all over Palestine, Syria, and Mesopotamia … observe the Torah … (Martin M. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church. Bantam edition, 1983, pp. 30-31).

Throughout the church age, the faithful have often had to move, and that impacted people in the east.

But the beliefs and practices of the original church of the east are still taught by the Continuing Church of God which still contends earnestly for them. Since Pope Leo XIV alluded to that, perhaps he and others associated with him will look more into the truth about what the original beliefs were.

More details on history, beliefs, and original practices can be found in the free ebook: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession?

Some items of related interest may include:

Early Christianity in Edessa and the Church of the East Could there have been Christian leaders there? Might Judas of Jerusalem went there? Could Macarius have been a faithful Christian?

Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.

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. Francis could be number 112–if he counted. What about Pope Leo XIV? Could he reign until Rome is destroyed. May he be an antipope/final Antichrist? Here is a link to a related sermon: Pope Leo XIV & Antichrist Prophecies.

The Last Pope of the Malachy Prophecies: Do Biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies Point to Pope Leo XIV? This 154 page book has biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic prophecies related to the last pope, an antipope who will be the final Antichrist. It is also available on Kindle: The Last Pope of the Malachy Prophecies: Do Biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies Point to Pope Leo XIV?-Kindle.

COGwriter

May 13th is known as ‘Fatima Day.’ Thousands travel to Fatima, Portugal each year to celebrate it.

Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, had planned to be there today, but his new papal duties caused him to change his plans (see Did the demons know that Robert Prevost would become Pope Leo XIV?).

That said, why have multiple millions visited Fatima?

Well, many improperly believe that Jesus’ mother Mary appeared there over a century ago.

On May 13, 1917, three young children claimed to see a female wearing a short skirt near Fatima, Portugal that many LATER declared was Mary, the mother of Jesus (though the apparition never referred to itself as Mary).

May 13, 2013

D. José Policarpo maintained that the Church has to assert itself as a “place of conversion and forgiveness, because it expresses the truth always in charity.”

“So you consecrate Lady, you who are the Mother of the Church, the ministry of the new Pope: fill your heart the tenderness of God, that you have experienced as anyone, so that it can embrace all men and women of this time with the love of your Son Jesus Christ, “he said…

After the moment of consecration of the pontificate, at the end of Mass, the bishop of Leiria-Fatima, D. António Marto, read a message sent by the Apostolic Nunciature in Portugal.

“The Holy Father expressed his satisfaction for the initiative and deep appreciation for the satisfaction of his desire in union of prayer with all the pilgrims of Fatima, which, at heart, gives apostolic blessing as a pledge of all goods,” referring text. http://www.agencia.ecclesia.pt/cgi-bin/noticia.pl?id=95487

Pope Francis took this even further as he consecrated the world before a statue that was flown to the Vatican from Fatima in October of 2013 (see Francis consecrated world to the ‘immaculate heart’ of an alleged ‘Fatima’ statue). Pope Francis took this Fatima matter seriously and it was part of his ecumenical agenda. Pope Francis mentioned Fatima throughout his papacy.

In 2017, Pope Francis flew to Fatima, Portugal to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fatima Day.

On March 25, 2022, he ‘consecrated’ Russia and Ukraine to the ‘immaculate heart of Mary’ in a manner similar to that which one of the children who saw the Marian apparition said the ‘Lady of Fatima’ said to do.

It should be noted that although many Greco-Roman Catholics believe that Mary, the mother of Jesus, appeared in Fatima, the “Lady” that appeared did not call herself Mary, and according to the only physical descriptions of the three witnesses, could not have possibly been Mary of the Bible.

I wrote a book titled Fatima Shock! to warn people that in the future, apparitions that most people will think are Mary, will likely be part of the signs and lying wonders that the Bible warns will deceive the world (it also gives more information of what the Fatimists really think of their previous pope as well as their view of the so-called undisclosed portion of the “third secret”).

Although most non-Roman Catholics do not think that Fatima can affect them, if they live long enough this century, they will find that this is not the case. Fatima is a much bigger deal than people realize and seems to tie into a variety of prophecies throughout the Bible (e.g. Isaiah 47, Matthew 24, 2 Thessalonians 2, Revelation 17). How apparitions are likely to affect the world at the end seems to be a missing dimension in understanding prophecy by most who profess Christ (see also the video Marian Apparitions May Fulfill Prophecy).

A lot of Roman Catholic prophecy indicates that “Mary” will be a major factor in bringing people to the final ‘Catholic’ faith–which will be a changed faith. This changed faith is warned against in the Bible, yet steps are being taken to implement it.

The ‘Lady of Fatima’ reminds me of the woman warned about in Isaiah 47.

The late Herbert Armstrong wrote the following related to Isaiah 47:

But WHO is the Power that will lay this YOKE of slavery upon, Britain and America? We begin to find this answer in the 47th chapter of Isaiah. Notice!

“Come down, and sit in the dust, 0 virgin daughter of Babylon,” is the salutation of this chapter, verse 1. It is addressed, not to the ancient Babylon of King Nebuchadnezzar. It is addressed to a descendant, or successor, of the ancient Chaldean Empire. It is addressed to a WOMAN. And in prophetic symbol the term “woman” represents a CHURCH (Eph. 5:23, 27, 32; II Cor. ll: 1-2; Rev. 19:6-9; Rev. 12:13-17, etc.). This “lady of Kingdoms” of Isaiah 47 is the same CHURCH pictured in Revelation 17 and 18. But let’s understand as we go along “… there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.” (Verse 1).

This “lady” is no longer a virgin! She is a prostitute. She is to LOSE her throne over political kingdoms. Notice her moral and spiritual fall: “Thy nakedness shall be uncovered , yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance … ” (verse 3 ).

God Almighty Himself is going to take vengeance on her. This can result only from spirirual harlotry, which is sin.

Continue: “Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for thou shall no more be called The Lady of Kingdoms.” (Verse 5 ) . The Moffatt translation is more plain: “Sit thou silent in the dark.” Light represents TRUTH. Darkness represents error and SIN. She is a fallen woman. She has reigned over KINGDOMS of NATIONS. But, from the time of the conclusion of this prophecy, she shall no longer be called “The Lady of Kingdoms”- that is, the CHURCH that had a kingdom over the political civil kingdoms…

God will give the House of Israel of today-Britain and America-into the hand of this “Lady of Kingdoms.” She, through the armies and secret police of the nations she shall sit upon and rule, will very heavily lay HER YOKE of slavery, torture, and martyrdom on our peoples! (Armstrong HW. BRITAIN’S DOOM Prophesied for Common Market Seeking Membership! Plain Truth, July 1962; he also said something similar in his Sermon dated November 27, 1982)

Here are some items from the late Radio/Worldwide Church of God evangelist Raymond McNair:

Fatima Portugal

THE Pope’s pilgrimage to Portugal is the biggest event ever to occur in this country!” an elated Portuguese exclaimed to me. This momentous occasion is the 50th anniversary of the first Fatima vision. It was on May 13, 1917 that three poor, uneducated Portuguese peasant children believed the Virgin Mary appeared to them, It is also the 25th anniversary of Pope Pius XII’s consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary! …

The Pope had come to Fatima to lead all Catholics worldwide in prayer for peace – peace within the Church, and peace in the whole world. …

“The first intention is for the Church …. We want to pray, as we have said, for its intemal peace.” Then the Pope gave a solemn warning to the ecclesiastical princes of the Catholic Church who do not agree with the official teachings of the Church.” What terrible damage could be provoked by arbitrary interpretations, not authorized by the teaching of the Church, disrupting its traditional and constitutional structure … ” …

The Pontiff then pointed to that great part of humanity which lives in hunger and in dire need.” Therefore, we say, the world is in DANGER. For this reason WE HAVE COME TO THE FEET OF THE QUEEN OF PEACE to ask her for the gift, which only God can give, of peace.” …

In the German Suddeutsche Zeitung there was an article in which it was revealed that Pope Paul VI had received a message in Fatima through the only remaining shepherd girl (who is now a nun). They were seen quite some time together and it appeared as if she had something to say to him. When asked in Rome, after his return, if his visit to Fatima was a success, Pope Paul said: ” I went to Fatima to pray for peace to the Virgin Mary and I received the answer how to, achieve this peace.”

There are many rumors that he did receive a message, but he has not wanted to divulge it.

Since the pilgrimage to Fatima, the Pope has spoken out on Jerusalem- demanding it become an international city. What most do not know is that there is evidence the Vatican has plans to move from Rome to Jerusalem … This event will stir the world! It will be the Pope ‘s final effort as the world’s peacemaker! (McNair R. The Real Meaning Behind POPE PAUL’S PILGRIMAGE TO PORTUGAL. Plain Truth, June 1967, pp. 3, 47)

Jerusalem will become increasingly important to Catholics in the near future. The Papacy will, as previously reported in The PLAIN TRUTH, be moved from Rome to Jerusalem … Bible prophecy is very explicit on this point. Furthermore, according to a recent report in a leading German newspaper, the Third Fatima Message is reported (by inside, informed Vatican sources) to reveal that there will be a terrible World War III, during which (according to this Fatima Vision) both Rome and the Vatican will be destroyed! Could this possibly explain why the Vatican will be moved to Jerusalem? (McNair R. POPE MEETS PATRIARCH. Plain Truth, October 1967)

For even more information on Isaiah 47 as well as Fatima and other apparitions, please check out the book Fatima Shock!

The “Lady of Fatima” is NOT the answer to humanity’s ills, despite many Catholics believing otherwise. We need the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His kingdom to eliminate war, implement peace, and bring in true prosperity. Pope Francis’ emphasis on his version of Mary is a deviation from scripture.

Having visited Fatima, it is and has been a major reason for tourism in Portugal and especially the region it is in. This is one reason why it is hard to find books in Fatima that tell the full truth about it (and my wife and I searched all the book stores we could find there about it–and they all sold pro-apparition books, and none we found sold books warning against believing it).

While I agree that something appeared there, what appeared was NOT Jesus’ mother Mary nor was it sent by God.

COGwriter

Former Roman Catholic, Mike Gendron had the following in one of his newsletters:

Common Bonds Between Islam and Catholicism

Will the world’s two largest religions converge and be the catalyst for the prophesied one-world religion? At first glance, the two faiths appear to be vastly different but under close inspection, they have more common bonds than differences. In 1994 the Vatican issued a publication entitled: “Spiritual Bonds Which Unite Us: 16 Years of Christian-Muslim Dialogue.” After extensive study and research, I put forth 10 common bonds that will help unite these two religions.

1. Both Esteem and Honor Mary – Muslims and Catholics both call her, “Our Lady.” and venerate her as a pure and holy saint. Mary is mentioned more in the Qu’ran than the Bible.
2. Both Seek Messages from Apparitions of Mary– Many of the messages make it clear she is coming for all her children including Muslims, Catholics and Protestants and that people of all religions can be saved apart from Jesus Christ as long as they are good.
3. Both Are Anti-Semitic – The Vatican has issued over 100 anti-semitic documents and taught the Jews should be cursed because they killed Christ. Mohammed words recorded in a hadith say, “The last day will not come until the Muslims destroy the Jews.”
4. Both Embrace Another Jesus – Catholicism has a counterfeit Jesus whose death on the cross was not sufficient to save them. Islam also has a counterfeit Jesus (Isa) who did not die on a cross and is not God, only a prophet.
5. Both Seek World Dominion – Both religions rule with an autocratic government and have a history of forced conversions, and killing those who oppose them. Could these religions which control people with indoctrination, intimidation, and fear be a precursor to the rule of Anti-christ?
6. Both Deny the Authority of Scripture – The pagan beliefs of both religions stand opposed to the Bible. Muslims reject the Bible as the final revelation from God declaring that God has revealed a final testament: the Qu’ran which is their supreme authority.
7. Both Use Prayer Beads to Avoid Punishment – Catholics pray the rosary to remit punishment for sin. Muslins use 99 beads that correspond to the names of God. Praying to Allah five times a day is an act of obedience to escape the punishment imposed on those who do not pray.
8. Both Take Pilgrimages to Obtain Favor from God – Catholics take pilgrimages for religious purification and the promise of indulgences. Muslims take pilgrimages to Mecca, a mandatory religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime.
9. Both Have Human Mediators – Catholics rely on the priesthood to dispense salvation through sacraments and seek Mary to intercede with God on their behalf. Muslims rely on the intercession of Muhammad on judgment day. He will prostrate himself before Allah who will say, “O Muhammad! speak, it will be heard; and be given; intercede, and it will be approved.”
10. Both Have a Works-Righteousness Salvation – Allah will place one’s good and evil works on the divine scale: “Those whose scales are light are those who lose their souls in hell” (Sura 23:102,103). In Catholicism, sacraments, good works and obeying the law are necessary for salvation.

These two religions represent a huge mission field with nearly 3 billion precious souls. They need to know the true Jesus and submit to His Word as their supreme authority. Only then will they repent of their works-righteousness salvation and believe the glorious Gospel of grace. As ambassadors for Christ let us sow the seed of His Word.

Mike Gendron is correct that Christians are to be ambassadors for Christ (see Christians: Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God, Biblical instructions on living as a Christian).

Though I would not necessarily word things as he has, there are several similarities between Islam and Roman Catholicism.

Both are overly involved with Marianism and apparitions.

May is the month that Roman Catholics have dedicated to their version of Mary. Many believe that Jesus’ mother Mary appeared in Fatima, Portugal on May 13, 1917.

Interestingly, Muslims claim that Mohamed’s daughter Fatima was the one that would appear.

Pope Francis has made many pro-Muslim statements (e.g., see ‘Pope Francis: God Desires Solidarity Among Catholics and Muslims’). Plus the Vatican even put together what could be called the Chrislam cross in 2019.

Anyway, as far as views of the Bible go, Muslims believe that Christians and Jews corrupted it and hence it cannot be trusted. They do believe God used Jesus, but deny His deity and resurrection.

Roman Catholics accept scripture but believe that how the Vatican interprets it, as well as traditions it has held since at least the time of Emperor Constantine, has equal value to scripture. Hence, Roman Catholics do not believe many scriptures the same way that people like Mike Gendron or I do.

As far as Roman Catholics and Muslims making a deal, that will happen.

The deal, however, will be temporary (cf. Daniel 11:27,40).

As I have written before, it is possible that if some apparition claiming to be Mary appears in some Arabic location[s] that this might temporarily persuade the Arabs and their allies to somewhat accept the Beast (see also Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions).

Lest any have the mis-impression that the Arabs are not a discerning people, it needs to be understood that they will apparently be the first major block to recognize the falsehood of this European power.

Probably because of its attempts to dominate the world and its religions by the nominally Roman Catholic King of the North, the prophesied Arabic King of the South will become displeased.

The idea of a Roman Catholic-Islamic alliance that will be temporary is also consistent with Greco-Roman Catholic and Islamic prophecy.

Some of which seems to be related to this prophecy in the Book of Daniel

26 And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate (Daniel 9:26-27).

The above discusses a seven-year deal that will be broken in the middle (see also The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27).

The idea of this being related to a seven-year, end-time period was also understood by the Catholic theologians Irenaeus of Lyon (second century) and Hippolytus (died 235) of Rome:

And the angel Gabriel, when explaining his vision, states with regard to this person: “And towards the end of their kingdom a king of a most fierce countenance shall arise, one understanding [dark] questions, and exceedingly powerful, full of wonders; and he shall corrupt, direct, influence (faciet), and put strong men down, the holy people likewise; and his yoke shall be directed as a wreath [round their neck]; deceit shall be in his hand, and he shall be lifted up in his heart: he shall also ruin many by deceit, and lead many to perdition, bruising them in his hand like eggs.” Daniel 8:23, etc. And then he points out the time that his tyranny shall last, during which the saints shall be put to flight, they who offer a pure sacrifice unto God: “And in the midst of the week,” he says, “the sacrifice and the libation shall be taken away, and the abomination of desolation [shall be brought] into the temple: even unto the consummation of the time shall the desolation be complete.” Now three years and six months constitute the half-week. (Irenaeus. Against Heresies, Book V, Chapter 25, verse 4)

With respect, then, to the particular judgment in the torments that are to come upon it in the last times by the hand of the tyrants who shall arise then, the clearest statement has been given in these passages. But it becomes us further diligently to examine and set forth the period at which these things shall come to pass, and how the little horn shall spring up in their midst. For when the legs of iron have issued in the feet and toes, according to the similitude of the image and that of the terrible beast, as has been shown in the above, (then shall be the time) when the iron and the clay shall be mingled together. Now Daniel will set forth this subject to us. For he says, “And one week will make a covenant with many, and it shall be that in the midst (half) of the week my sacrifice and oblation shall cease.” By one week, therefore, he meant the last week which is to be at the end of the whole world of which week the two prophets… will take up the half. For they will preach 1,260 days clothed in sackcloth, proclaiming repentance to the people and to all the nations…(Hippolytus. On Christ and Antichrist, Chapter 43. Online edition Copyright © 2008 by Kevin Knight).

As these things, therefore, of which we have spoken before are in the future, beloved, when the one week is divided into parts, and the abomination of desolation has arisen then, and the forerunners of the Lord have finished their proper course, and the whole world, in fine, comes to the consummation, what remains but the manifestation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Son of God, from heaven, for whom we have hoped; who shall bring forth fire and all just judgment against those who have refused to believe in Him? For the Lord says, “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be; for wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” (Hippolytus. On the End of the World, Chapter 36. Translated by J.H. MacMahon. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 5. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0504.htm)

So, the idea of this deal somehow having a seven-year component, that is broken in the middle, with Jesus coming afterwards is not simply a recent one.

Despite Hippolytus’ understanding, based upon what the Bible teaches about the seven churches of Revelation 2 & 3, it is my position that the seven-year component of the peace deal will not be clear enough, to not only Greco-Roman Catholics and Protestants but also to most who claim to be in the Church of God (COG) for them to realize this is the peace deal. Just like they do not consider certain prophetic matters clear enough (e.g. How To Determine If Someone is a True Prophet of God), the vast majority will not truly understand the prophetic implications when the related deal is made.

While the leader in Daniel 9:27 is only referred to as a prince when he confirms the one week covenant, he probably will not be known as the “King” until shortly before he breaks the covenant at the mid-week point (most likely he will be considered simply one of several leaders negotiating a treaty when this deal in Daniel 9:27 is initially made). The two witnesses (who are prophets) rise up around the mid-point of the week (3 1/2 years into it). The iron and clay mingled together refers to a power (like Europe) that is not totally cohesive.

Interestingly, notice the following Catholic prophecy about betrayal:

Nostradamus: The Great Arab shall progress well forward, But betrayed shall be by the Byzantines. (Turks).

Comment on above from Catholic writer Yves Dupont: Here, we are told that Turkey will break its faith with the rest of the Arab world. (Dupont, Yves. Catholic Prophecy: The Coming Chastisement. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1973, p. 107).

The “Great Arab” is probably supposed to represent the Mahdi/Caliph, the final King of the South. The Turks currently control Byzantium and have for many centuries. Hence, Roman Catholic prophecy indicates that Turkey will betray the Islamic Arabic power. In the Bible, Daniel 11:25-26 is quite clear that an ally of the King of the South will betray the King of the South:

25 “He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him. 26 Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him; his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. (Daniel 11:25-26)

Presuming that Daniel 11:25-26 has a future fulfillment (and as it seems to parallel Daniel 11:40-43 so it may), there will be close allies (like Turkey) that will betray the King of the South according to scripture as well. Many events will not turn out well in the Arab World for a time–watch also the video War is Coming Between Europeans and Arabs.

As it turns out, a seven year deal is in Islamic prophecy:

Rasaullah [Muhammed] said: “There will be four peace agreements between you and the Romans [Christians]. The fourth agreement will be mediated through a person who will be the progeny of Hadrat Haroon [Honorable Aaron — Moses’ brother] and will be upheld for seven years (Richardson J. Antichrist: Islam’s Awaited Messiah. Pleasant Word, 2006, p. 48)

The above sounds similar to the seven year (one week in biblical language) agreement discussed in Daniel 9:27 that involves a “prince” who appears to be the one the Bible warns will become the King of the North and apparently the nation of Israel. It certainly would make sense that there would be Muslim representation in a peace deal.

Here is something else along those lines:

{Muslim} Adnan Oktar, a media personality and prolific author, about what Islam expects to happen as the world grinds down to the last days. …

There are bad djinn and good djinn, with the good djinn being Muslim.

“Yes the Mahdi will communicate with the djinns,” Oktar says in the film. “Mahdi is the leader of both djinns and men. Muslim djinns, djinns that believe in God, will assist the Muslims in making Muslims prevail throughout the world.”

Oktar goes on to explain that the Mahdi will rule for seven years, which eerily resembles the reign of another character that the Bible warns Christians to beware of in the last days. (Hohmann L. Popular Muslim personality: ‘Jesus Christ is among us’ New documentary sheds light on Islamic views about end times. World News Daily, October 26, 2014. http://www.wnd.com/2014/10/popular-muslim-personality-jesus-christ-is-among-us/#Llx0l0MmRdAXVu5w.99 viewed 10/27/14)

Notice also:

The last days, as described in Islam, are marked by the figures of Gog and Magog (Juj wa Jajuj), the Mahdi, the Antichrist (Dajjal), and Jesus…Gog and Magog, representing the forces of chaos, have been kept at bay…At the end of time, chaos will break through the wall of Divinely imposed order, and the world will succumb to “outer darkness”. At the same time, it is believed, there will be a countercurrent, or a brief return to the state of spiritual lucidity and primordial integrity that obtained at the dawn of time. This is the reign of the Mahdi, the “rightly guided one”…

The reign of the Mahdi will be followed by that of the Antichrist… once the Antichrist has led away his followers, Jesus will then come to destroy the Antichrist in the closing moments of the cosmic drama. (Glasse C. New Encyclopedia of Islam: A Revised Edition of the Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, 3rd edition, 2008, pp. 143, 316).

Some in Islam seem to essentially understand that the reign of the Beast and Antichrist will happen after the Mahdi’s death. Now this is true, for the Arab lands. However, the Beast (King of the North) will rule in Europe and in some of the American lands, though, prior to his reign over Arab lands as the Great Tribulation begins with Daniel 11:39, and not Daniel 11:40 when the Kings of the North and South fight.

The time of the ‘Mahdi’ is the time that Islam believes it will be rising up. This is consistent with the prophesied rise of the King of the South in Daniel 11:27, 40. Because of this rise, they will not pay enough attention to the deal.

Notice that this too, seems to be consistent with some Islamic prophecy:

5 General anarchy and bloodshed, that no Arab household will be spared from it 6 Then a life of peace as a result of a peace agreement between you and the Banil Asfaar (Romans) which they will break and attack you with a force consisting of eighty flags and under each flag will be an army of twelve thousand men. (Ibn Zubair Ali, Mohammed Ali. The minor signs of Last Days from: The Signs of Qiyamah. http://www.islamawareness.net/Prophecies/minor.html viewed 08/11/12).

5 General anarchy and bloodshed, that no Arab household will be spared from it
6 Then a life of peace as a result of a peace agreement between you and the Banil Asfaar
(Romans) which they will break and attack you with a force consisting of eighty flags and under each flag will be an army of twelve thousand men.” (Hadith: Sahih Bukhari). (From “Signs of Qiyamah” (excerpts) by Mohammed Ali Ibn Zubair Ali. The Minor Signs of the Last Day. http://www.islam.tc/prophecies/qiyaam2.html viewed 07/03/14)

Notice that not only biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic prophecy indicate that the King of the South/Great Arab will be betrayed, even Islam indicates that the Roman “Catholics” will turn against its leader, the Madhi (the King of the South) (see also The Arab and Islamic World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy).

Notice a biblical prophecy showing the Arabic power will be defeated:

40 At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. (Daniel 11:40-42, NKJV).

43 and he hath ruled over treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the desirable things of Egypt, and Lubim and Cushim are at his steps. (Daniel 11:43, Young’s literal translation)

The following scriptures are also related to a coming King of the South and the defeat of nations which are primarily Islamic at this time:

1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says:

“‘Wail and say, “Alas for that day!” 3 For the day is near, the day of the LORD is near- a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations. 4 A sword will come against Egypt, and anguish will come upon Cush. When the slain fall in Egypt, her wealth will be carried away and her foundations torn down.

5 Cush and Put, Lydia and all Arabia, Libya and the people of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with Egypt.

6 “‘This is what the LORD says:

“‘The allies of Egypt will fall and her proud strength will fail. From Migdol to Aswan they will fall by the sword within her, declares the Sovereign LORD. 7 “‘They will be desolate among desolate lands, and their cities will lie among ruined cities. 8 Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I set fire to Egypt and all her helpers are crushed.

9 “‘On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten Cush out of her complacency. Anguish will take hold of them on the day of Egypt’s doom, for it is sure to come (Ezekiel 30:1-9, NIV).

So, yes, expect cooperation between Islamic and Greco-Roman Catholic leaders.

Yes, expect some deals.

Yet, they will end up not turning out well for many Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa.

The stage for these prophecies to be fulfilled is being set.

COGwriter

Pope Leo XIV spoke in Vatican City today:

May 11, 2025

Addressing crowds in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV noted the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and — echoing his predecessor Pope Francis — declared, “Never again war.” https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/papal-conclave-live-updates-cardinals-gather-vatican-elect/?id=121506573

Here is more related to Pope Leo XIV:

May 11, 2025

“In his opening remarks, he mentioned being a missionary church that includes all people, and that comes right out of Pope Francis,” Dennis Doyle, professor emeritus at the University of Dayton in Ohio, told Fox News Digital. …

“Pope Francis’ first major document was called ‘Evangelii gaudium’, ‘The joy of the gospel,” Doyle said.

In his evanescent address, Pope Leo XIV said, “To all you brothers and sisters of Rome, Italy, of all the world, we want to be a synodal church, walking and always seeking peace, charity, closeness, especially to those who are suffering.”

“Pope Francis was really big into this idea of synodality,” Doyle said. …

“For him, in his very brief remarks, to say we must be a synodal church, that is a big signal that he intends to continue much of what Pope Francis was about,” he said of Pope Leo XIV. https://www.foxnews.com/world/pope-leo-xivs-first-address-draws-similarities-pope-francis-papacy-while-preserving-forsaken-traditions

Pope Leo XIV is the “bridge builder” the cardinals look for when selecting a new Pope, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, told Newsmax Saturday. https://www.wlsam.com/2025/05/10/cardinal-dolan-to-newsmax-pope-leo-is-a-bridge-builder/

So, we see a couple of reports of Leo following in the direction of Pope Francis.

That is not unexpected. Pope Leo XIV’s pushing of synodality shows that he has an ecumenical agenda.

Notice some comments in my book that came out Thursday titled The Last Pope of the Malachy Prophecies: Do Biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies Point to Pope Leo XIV?:

Upon becoming Pope Leo XIV, he called for people to build bridges through dialogue. Note that the term Ponifex Maximus literally means “Greatest Bridge Builder.”

Leo XIV will be ecumenical.

In my view, Pope Francis took steps to set the stage for the arrival of the final Antichrist and antipope. Francis’ involvement in political matters, including him being granted the Charlemagne Prize, which is given to the one who pushes European unity, has helped set the stage for the last pope.

The last pope will push for greater European unity. At least by virtue of his timing, Pope Leo XIV will push for greater European unity. …

Yesterday, he explained why he chose the name of Pope Leo XIV:

Why is he called Leo XIV? The official answer given by the Pope

On the morning of Saturday, May 10, Pope Leo XIV held a meeting with all the cardinals in the Vatican. It was a two-part meeting: first he gave a speech in which, among other things, he explained why he had chosen the name he bears: “Sensing myself called to continue in this same path, I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour”. https://zenit.org/2025/05/10/why-is-he-called-leo-xiv-the-official-answer-given-by-the-pope/

A couple of days before he explained why he chose the name Leo XIV, I wrote the following in my Amazon Kindle book titled The Last Pope of the Malachy Prophecies: Do Biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies Point to Pope Leo XIV?:

One wonders if he took that name, at least partially, because of Pope Leo XIII. Here is some information on him:

Pope Leo XIII … is well known for his intellectualism and his attempts to define the position of the Catholic Church with regard to modern thinking.  … He influenced the Mariology of the Catholic Church and promoted both the rosary and the scapular. … Leo XIII is particularly remembered for his belief that pastoral activity in political sociology was also a vital mission of the church as a vehicle of social justice and maintaining the rights and dignities of the human person. Leo XIII issued a record of eleven papal encyclicals on the rosary, earning him the title of the “Rosary Pope”. In addition, he approved two new Marian scapulars.  (Pope Leo XIII. Wikipedia, accessed 05/08/25)

Prior to becoming pope, Leo XIII helped arrange an ecumenical meeting which has been called the First Vatican Council. …

Roman Catholics have written about future ecumenical plans: …

Priest Herman Kramer (20^th century): … the Apocalypse … The thunders may mean the dogmatic declarations of the Church against infidels expressed in an ecumenical council … such as that of … the Infallibility of the Pope … The Seven Thunders may then be declarations of an ecumenical council clearing up all that was left unfinished by the magisterial office of the Church, before God will permit Satan to exert his supreme efforts to destroy her from without. The Seven Thunders will strengthen the faithful and loyal clergy … (Kramer H., pp. 239,241-242)

The Bible teaches that the Seven Thunders happen near the end (cf. Revelation 10:1-4), so if this ecumenical council comes, it would be expected to be near the end. It also teaches that the successful ecumenical religion (Revelation 13:4,8) will not have God’s approval (Revelation 14,18).

Yet, certain private prophecies seem to praise the success of this ecumenical movement:

Blessed Anna-Maria Taigi (19th century): Whole nations will come back to the Church and the face of the earth will be renewed. Russia … and China will come into the Church. …

Pope Leo XIII (1893): 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)

We see from the above that certain Greco-Roman Catholics expect those in China, Russia, India, and elsewhere to accept their religion in the end. …

Some Roman Catholic sources are indicating that something should apparently happen in the early portion of the 21^st century. … notice two accounts about a pontiff who had a vision in 1884:

Pope Leo XIII had a vision of a confrontation between God and Satan. Pope Leo was made to understand that Satan would be allowed one hundred years to tempt and try to destroy the Church. In the vision, Satan chose for his one hundred years the Twentieth Century. (Flynn, pp. 4-5)

Pope Leo XIII had a remarkable vision…When asked what had happened, he explained that, as he was about to leave the foot of the altar, he suddenly heard voices – two voices, one kind and gentle, the other guttural and harsh. They seemed to come from near the tabernacle. As he listened, he heard the following conversation:

The guttural voice, the voice of Satan in his pride, boasting to Our Lord: “I can destroy your Church.”

The gentle voice of Our Lord: “You can? Then go ahead and do so.”

Satan: “To do so, I need more time and more power.”

Our Lord: “How much time? How much power?”

Satan: “75 to 100 years, and a greater power over those who will give themselves over to my service.”

Our Lord: “You have the time, you will have the power. Do with them what you will.” (The Vision Of Pope Leo XIII, October 13, 1884 http://www.stjosephschurch.net/leoxiii.htm viewed 02/25/09)

If the 20^th century alone was meant in the vision, then the Pope’s vision was completely false (as opposed to being a reverse mirror image of God’s plan as some private prophecies seem to be). In order for the above to fit in with other Greco-Roman Catholic private prophecies, it would probably need to be interpreted that the seventy-five to one hundred years started at about the same time as the time frame as that indicated by Nun Emmerich. If so, the seventy-five years ended in 2008, and the outside date (based on one hundred years) would be about 2033.  Unless this Pope had it completely wrong, some part of the end would seem to occur fairly soon.

So, Leo XIV confirmed he choose that name in honor of Leo XIII–a person who promoted a social agenda, and one who made a prediction related to a time near where we are.

The Continuing Church of God is pleased to announce this sermon from its ContinuingCOG channel:

1:16:29

Pope Leo XIV & Antichrist Prophecies

On May 8, 2025, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became Pope Leo XIV. Could he possibly be the last pope of Irish Bishop Malachy’s prophecy list of popes? When did Roman Bishops first take the title of pope? What do the words pope and Pontifex Maximus mean? Are there Greco-Roman Catholic prophecies that point to an antipope being the final Antichrist? If so, does the Bible prophesy that he will do great signs, persecute, and one day betray the Church of Seven Hills in Revelation 17? How many antipopes have there officially been? What about the late Pope Francis? Was Cardinal Prevost the stated papal candidate for Freemason Giuliano Di Bernardo? Could Leo XIV be the dreaded ‘Peter the Roman’? Do the Bible and Greco-Roman Catholic prophesies point to the rise of an ecumenical interfaith religion with leaders that perform miracles and great signs and prodigies? What about the 325 A.D. and 2025 Council of Nicea? Do any Roman Catholic prophesies warn about the rise of a ‘secret set’ that will cause the Vatican troubles? Will the final pope betray the Roman Catholic faith? Could the Malachy list have demonic involvement? What about Mystery Babylon, 666, the Beast, the Great Monarch, persecution, and the end of the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom? What are similarities between the last pope of Greco-Roman prophecies and the two-horned beast of Revelation 13? What are the scriptures that mention the antichrist in the Bible? Will the last and final pope betray the Church of Rome? Dr. Thiel covers these issues and more.

Here is a link to our sermon video: Pope Leo XIV & Antichrist Prophecies.

That said, my book about the Malachy prophecies and how Pope Leo XIV could be the one to fulfill the last one is now available on Amazon Kindle: The Last Pope of the Malachy Prophecies: Do Biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies Point to Pope Leo XIV?

A print version should be available soon.

Some items of related interest may include:

Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.

COGwriter

Israel365News posted the following from a Protestant calling himself Bishop Jerry L. Bowers of the Book of Acts Now Global Church:

Why Christians Should Honor, Not Convert, the Jewish People

May 6, 2025

One of the biggest barriers to Jewish-Christian relationships is the belief that Jews must convert to Christianity. This view misunderstands God’s covenant with His chosen people. …

Recently, a Jewish author asked me, “Do you believe Jews must go through Jesus to enter heaven?” …

The apostle Paul addressed this in Romans 11:1-3, asking, “Did God cast away His people Israel?” His answer: “Certainly not! He has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.” Paul states that “The gifts and calling of God for the Jews are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). The Jewish people remain in covenant with God.

Paul concludes: “All Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26). …

Christians are grafted into the covenant promises God made to Abraham and the Jewish people—not the other way around. Jews aren’t meant to leave their covenant to join the Christian Church; instead, Christians join with the Jews, grafted into God’s covenant with them.

What about Jesus’s statement in John 14:6 that “no one comes to the Father except through Me”? The context shows Jesus was talking about revealing the Father, not limiting access to Him.

Wow! So many wrong understandings.

First of all, Jews only must convert to Christianity if they want to be saved. Yet, Bishop Bowers does not understand that. Notice what the Apostle Peter told Jewish leaders:

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: 9 If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, 10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  (Acts 4:8-12)

ALL, INCLUDING JEWS, MUST ACCEPT JESUS TO BE SAVED.

Notice also something that the Apostle Paul wrote:

9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

Jews are included in the every knee must bow to Jesus.

Secondly, notice what the Apostle Peter said the day he received the Holy Spirit to a predominantly Jewish crowd who asked what they needed to do:

38 … “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”  (Acts 2:38-39)

Thirdly, heaven is NOT the reward of the saved — see Did Early Christians Teach They Were Going to Heaven?

Fourthly, Bishop Bowers does NOT understand Romans 11:26 (see also What About Romans 11:25 and the Full Number of the Gentiles?).

The bulk of the original Christians were Jews. At least multiple thousands of Jews have been converted during the church age (Acts 2 to present) and multiple millions will be converted in the age to come–see also the free e-book: Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation.

Sadly, Bishop Bower does not seem to properly understand God’s plan of salvation.

That said, what about the Jews?

To assist them with reasons why they should become Christians, the Continuing Church of God put out the following sermon on its ContinuingCOG channel:

1:12:35

Jesus for Jews?

Since there are at least 200 scriptures in the Hebrew Bible that Jesus fulfilled, why do most Jews not accept Jesus as the prophesied Messiah? Is the claim in the ‘Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906′ that “there appears to be no evidence of any Jewish conception of a Messiah suffering through and for his people” true or misleading? What do Jewish writings, including those in the Babylonian Talmud (Mishnah and Gemara) and various Targums reveal? What about the Dead Sea Scrolls? Was the timing of Jesus’ arrival and death consistent with any Jewish writings or records? Do any Jewish writings point to Jesus miraculously healing the sick? Do ancient Jewish writings tell of the Messiah who would offer Himself to take away the sins of Israel? Do Jewish writings tell of Messiah son of Joseph dying to later be resurrected? Do any Jewish writings point to Messiah son of David coming in the clouds, like 1 Thessalonians 4 does? Are there Jewish writings claimed to be related to the archangel Gabriel which tells of a resurrection after three days? If the Jews believed the Old Testament and certain of their writings, shouldn’t they accept Jesus as the prophesied Messiah? Dr. Thiel addresses these matters.

Here is a link to our sermon: Jesus for Jews?

Now, let me add that according to various Jewish writings, if Jews paid enough attention to certain specific ones, they would accept Jesus.

Consider the following Jewish writing related to when the Messiah was to come:

The Tanna debe Eliyyahu teaches: The world is to exist six thousand years. In the first two thousand there was desolation;  two thousand years the Torah flourished;  and the next two thousand years is the Messianic era (Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Sanhedrin Folio 97a).

The above is saying that 4000 years after Adam and Eve were created that the Messianic era would begin. And that is basically correct in the sense that Jesus came about 4000 years after Adam and Eve were put out of the Garden of Eden. Yes, even according to the School of Elijah (which is what ‘Tanna debe Eliyyahu’ means) teaching of scripture, Jesus came when the Messiah was supposed to come.

Here is some information about the Jews, why they do not accept Jesus, and some reasons why their own accepted writings show that they should from our free online book Proof Jesus is the Messiah:

[Y]ou may be asking yourself, “If Jesus filled/fulfilled over 200 Hebrew scriptures, then why don’t all the religious Jews believe?”

Basically, for a combination of reasons.

Here is a summary of six of the main arguments against Jesus’ messiahship from some Jewish leaders:

1. They do not believe that all the prophecies Jesus fulfilled were messianic.
2. They do not believe that the Gospel accounts are accurate.
3. They believe that there were key messianic prophecies that Jesus did not fulfill.
4. They believe that Christians misunderstand timing and Daniel 9.
5. They rely on post-biblical traditions.
6. They see many errors in what is considered to be Christianity.

As far as that first item goes, the Jews (and others) need to consider that humans do not always understand how God works.

Consider the following about God to humankind, including the Jews:

⁸ For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9, JPS of 1917)

Although many Jews (and others) do not believe that a lot of prophesies Jesus fulfilled were messianic, that does not mean that they were not. The fact that God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours hopefully will give all (Jews and non-Jews) reasons to consider that perhaps they should give further consideration to the prophesies they had not considered as messianic.

Jews do acknowledge that Jesus lived and was executed. The Jewish Encyclopedia states:

Founder of Christianity; born at Nazareth about 2 B.C. (according to Luke iii. 23); executed at Jerusalem 14th of Nisan, (Jacobs J, et al. Jesus of Nazareth. The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Volume 7. 1906, p. 160)

And while 4 or 5 B.C. is probably the year of His birth, Jesus was executed on the 14^th of Nisan as The Jewish Encyclopedia states—which is the date of the biblical Passover (Leviticus 23:5).

Claims that Certain Prophecies Were Not Messianic

On the surface, various prophecies that New Testament writers pointed to that Jesus fulfilled do not clearly appear to be prophetic or messianic.

Although many of those do not bother the Jews, one of the biggest Jewish arguments against Jesus’ messiahship is a view that the Messiah was not supposed to suffer and die. Yet, Christians (correctly) assert that those were truly messianic ones that Jesus fulfilled.

The Jewish Encyclopedia goes so far as to assert (bolding mine):

Yet it would almost appear that in one sense of the word Jesus regarded himself as fulfilling some of the prophecies which were taken among contemporary Jews as applying to the Messiah. It is doubtful whether it was later tradition or his own statements that identified him with the servant of Yhwh represented in Isa. liii.; but there appears to be no evidence of any Jewish conception of a Messiah suffering through and for his people, though there possibly was a conception of one suffering together with his people. (Jacobs, p. 163)

Notice that the Jewish position is not based on any scriptures that state the Messiah would not suffer and die, but essentially on what is claimed to be Jewish tradition. Jesus, Himself, warned against relying on Jewish tradition when it was in conflict with scripture (e.g. Matthew 15:3-9). Isaiah foretold:

¹⁴ And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (Isaiah 8:14, JPS)

The Apostle Paul wrote that the execution of Jesus was a stumbling block to the Jews (1 Corinthians 1:23), and it has been.

Now, the Jews are correct that the suffering idea was not a Jewish conception — but that is because it was conceived by GOD as the FIRST and INDISPENSABLE PART of the plan of salvation for humankind before the foundation of the world (cf. Revelation 13:8)! The idea of a suffering Messiah is clearly biblical as can be shown in the Hebrew scriptures.

As far as any Jewish traditions go, the assertion “there appears to be no evidence of any Jewish conception of a Messiah suffering through and for his people” is false.

Various Jewish scholars have concluded that there was a Messiah who would suffer and die and one who would reign.

Notice the following from the Hungarian-Jewish author Raphael Patai:

Messiah ben Joseph, also called Messiah ben Ephraim, referring to his ancestor Ephraim, the son of Joseph, is imagined as the first commander of the army of Israel in the Messianic wars. He will achieve many signal victories, but his fate is to die at the hands of Armilus in a great battle in which Israel is defeated by Gog and Magog. His corpse is left unburied in the streets of Jerusalem for forty days, but neither beast nor bird of prey dares to touch it. Then, Messiah ben David comes, and his first act is to bring about the resurrection of his tragic forerunner.

Scholars have repeatedly speculated about the origin of the Messiah ben Joseph legend and the curious fact that the Messiah figure has thus been split in two. It would seem that in the early legend, the death of the Messiah was envisaged, perhaps as a development of the Suffering Servant motif. A prophecy of Daniel, … is the earliest source speaking of the death of a Mashiah (“Anointed”) sixty-two (prophetic) weeks after his coming and after the return and the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Dan. 9:24-26). While it appears that Daniel had a temporal ruler in mind, whom he calls Mashiah Nagid (“Anointed Prince”), … later, the author of 4 Ezra unmistakably refers to the Messiah, belief in whom had developed in the meantime, when he puts words in the mouth of God to the effect that after four hundred years (counted from when?), MY son the Messiah shall die (4 Ezra 7:27-30).

When the death of the Messiah became an established tenet in Talmudic times, this was felt to be irreconcilable with the belief in the Messiah as the Redeemer who would usher in the blissful millennium of the Messianic age. The dilemma was solved by splitting the person of the Messiah in two: one of them, called Messiah ben Joseph, was to raise the armies of Israel against their enemies, and, after many victories and miracles, would fall victim to Gog and Magog. The other, Messiah ben David, will come after him (in some legends will bring him back to life, which psychologically hints at the identity of the two), and will lead Israel to the ultimate victory, the triumph, and the Messianic era of bliss.

This splitting of the Messiah in two persons, which took place in the Talmudic period, achieved another purpose besides resolving the dilemma of the slain Messiah. According to an old tradition, the Messiah was perfectly prefigured in Moses. But Moses died before he could lead the Children of Israel into the Land of Promise. Consequently, for the parallel to be complete, the Messiah, too, had to die before accomplishing his great task of ultimate Redemption. Since however, the Messiah would not be the True Redeemer of God if he did not fulfill that ultimate task, the only solution was to let one Messiah, like Moses, die, and then assign the completion of the work of Redemption to a second Messiah. (Patai R. The Messiah Texts: Jewish Legends of Three Thousand Years. Wayne State University Press, 2015, pp. 165-166)

Thus, to suggest that no Jewish scholars felt the Messiah could suffer or die is false. Furthermore, though the above comes up with two Messiahs, the Bible shows that Jesus came once—and fulfilled over 200 prophecies—and that Jesus will come a second time to fulfill others.

Notice also, there is a hint, associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls, that God’s Anointed was going to suffer related to Isaiah 52:14:

Isaiah … 52:14 includes an obscure hapax legomena מִשְׁחַת that appears in 1QIsa^a as משׁחתי which pointed would be מְשַׁחְתִּי məšaḥtî, “I anointed”. This, in conjunction with the added definite article on ʾadam, results in a text which Hengel translates: “I have anointed his appearance beyond that of any (other) man, and his form beyond that of the sons of humanity [the human]”. This has other textual overtones bringing the passage into an explicit connection with “anointing”.

Portion of Isaiah 52:14

(Source: Is there evidence that Isaiah 53 was viewed as a Messianic prophecy within Judaism, or is it an exclusively Christian interpretation? Christianity Stack Exchange. See also Janowski B, Stuhlmacher Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, pp. 103-104)

The Dead Sea Scrolls were from Jewish, not Christian, sources. Most of the Dead Sea Scrolls are believed to have been written before Jesus was born. The portion above comes from the “Great Isaiah Scroll”, 1QIsa^a., believed to have been written over a century before Jesus’ birth.

Furthermore, consider something from the Targum Jonathan, in the portion known as the Targum Isaiah. (The targums were—mainly in Aramaic—spoken paraphrases, explanations and expansions of scripture that began to be developed by the Jews shortly before the time of Jesus. The targums probably received the bulk of their editing in written form during the second century and were considered to be completed by the fourth century.)

Notice how the Targum Jonathan renders Isaiah 52:13:

Behold my servant Messiah shall prosper, He shall be exalted and extolled, and He shall be very strong: (Uzziel JB. The Chaldee Paraphrase on the Prophet Isaiah. London Society’s House, 1871, p. 181)

While the Targum Jonathan has various issues, the above passage shows that at least one Jew thought Isaiah 52 had messianic implications. Consider that when you tie that in with the following verse:

¹⁴ According as many were appalled at thee— So marred was his visage unlike that of a man, And his form unlike that of the sons of men— (Isaiah 52:14, JPS)

Clearly, some ancient Jewish writers did believe that the Messiah was prophesied to suffer.

And then there is this in the Talmud which cites Isaiah 53:4:

1. Giddal said in Rab’s name: The Jews are destined to eat [their fill] in the days of the Messiah. R. Joseph demurred: is this not obvious; who else then should eat — Hilek and Bilek? … Rab said: The world was created only on David’s account. Samuel said: On Moses account; R. Johanan said: For the sake of the Messiah. What is his [the Messiah’s] name? — The School of R. Shila said: His name is Shiloh, for it is written, until Shiloh come. The School of R. Yannai said: His name is Yinnon, for it is written, His name shall endure for ever: e”er the sun was, his name is Yinnon. The School of R. Haninah maintained: His name is Haninah, as it is written, Where I will not give you Haninah. Others say: His name is Menahem the son of Hezekiah, for it is written, Because Menahem [“the comforter”], that would relieve my soul, is far. The Rabbis said: His name is “the leper scholar,” as it is written, Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God, and afflicted. R. Nahman said: if he [the Messiah] is of those living [today], it might be one like myself, as it is written, And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governors shall proceed from the midst of them. Rab said: if he is of the living, it would be our holy Master; (Sanhedrin 93b)

Rabbi Yehoshua said to Rabbi Eliezer: But isn’t it already stated: “So says the Lord, Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him who is despised of man, to him who is abhorred of the nation, to a servant of rulers: (Sanhedrin 97b, v. 17)

The Zohar tradition, which is one of the comparatively less censored Rabbinic sources, offers its own material on the Messianic interpretation of Isaiah 53. … One of the Zohar’s thoughts on Isaiah 53 speaks about the Messiah as follows:

“The departed souls will arrive and tell the Messiah (about their lives), and when they describe to him the sufferings which Israel is undergoing in her dispersion, that they are guilty because they do not wish to know their Lord, he will raise up his voice and weep on behalf of those who are guilty of this, as it is written: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. “ And then those souls will rise and stand up in their posts. There is a castle in the Garden which is called the “house of the sick”. In that day the Messiah will enter into that castle and will shout, May all the sickness and pains of Israel come upon me!” and they will come. If he did not relieve Israel’s pains and take them upon himself no-one would be able to suffer on behalf of Israel’s oppression, of which it is written in the Torah: And it is written: “In truth he did bear our sicknesses”.”

As we can see, both the Zohar as well as the Talmud are depicting the Messiah as a pre-existent figure who shares and carries the sufferings and even the sins of Israel in her dispersion. Santala R. THE MIDRASH OF THE MESSIAH. 2002, pp. 108-109).

On the Great Day of Atonement the Jew feels that his sins must be forgiven before God. On that day even Isaiah 53 is sometimes mentioned. Although Isaiah 53 has been omitted from the annual reading of the prophets, so called haphtaroth, it appears in a remarkable prayer which is read in the Synagogue. The separate prayerbook for the feast days, the Mahzor Rabbah, contains a literary prayer by Rabbi Eleazar Qalir which may be from the ninth or even from the sixth century AD. … The main body of the prayer reads as follows:

“Then, before the creation, he already set up the Temple and the Messiah (the Rabbis” interpretation) – the Messiah our Righteousness has turned away from us, we are shaken, and can find no-one who can justify us. The yoke of our sins and our transgressions is a burden to us; and he was wounded for our transgressions, he suffered on his shoulders our iniquities-, there is forgiveness for our sins. In his wounds we are healed; it is time to create for ever a new creation. Send him back from the circles, bring him back from Seir, so that we might hear him in Lebanon a second time through Yinnon. He is our God, our Father, our King, he is our Saviour and he will liberate and redeem us for a second time and let us hear of his grace a second time in everyone’s sight, as it is said: “I will save you at the end as at the beginning so that I will be your God.” (Santala, pp. 111-112)

Thus, there are several reasons to conclude that some early Jews did believe that some of the passages of the servant in Isaiah 52/53 were messianic. Denying that in the 20^th and 21^st centuries does not change historical facts. The fact that the old Atonement prayer supports the idea of a second coming of a messiah from a Jewish perspective is also interesting.

Perhaps it should be pointed out that Risto Santala translated a portion of the Ruth Rabbah V,8,1 as follows:

the kingdom taken from him for a time … he was restored to his kingdom (Santala, p. 126)

The above is consistent with a second coming of the messiah, like Christians teach.

Jews should also consider that scriptures, from Genesis 4:4 on, show that sacrifices were carried out. The powerful story of Abraham’s sacrificing his son should have shown to all those who claim to be Abraham’s descendants the fact that there must be a sacrifice for the sins of humankind. And that it is logical that God would consider sacrificing His own son.

The 22^nd Psalm, as well as the 53^rd chapter of Isaiah, shows the agonizing suffering the Messiah would go through.

Consider also that a man was prophesied to be killed for a guilt offering and suffer FOR the sins of others:

⁹ He was given a grave among the wicked; in his death he was with a rich man. Although he had done no violence and had said nothing deceptive, ¹⁰ yet it pleased ADONAI to crush him with illness, to see if he would present himself as a guilt offering. If he does, he will see his offspring; and he will prolong his days; and at his hand ADONAI’s desire will be accomplished. ¹¹ After this ordeal, he will see satisfaction. “By his knowing [pain and sacrifice], my righteous servant makes many righteous; it is for their sins that he suffers. (Isaiah 53:9-11, Complete Jewish Bible)

The idea of a human sacrifice for sins of others was not something that Christians made up—the Hebrew scriptures taught it and some Jewish scholars have long realize that.

Furthermore, in the Talmud it is actually claimed that the Messiah, son of Joseph, would be killed (bolding and scriptures in the source: sefaria.org):

It is stated: “The land will eulogize, each family separately; the family of the house of David separately, and their women separately, the family of the house of Nathan separately, and their women separately” (Zechariah 12:12). …

Apropos the eulogy at the end of days, the Gemara asks: For what is the nature of this eulogy? The Gemara answers: Rabbi Dosa and the Rabbis disagree concerning this matter. One said that this eulogy is for Messiah ben Yosef who was killed in the war of Gog from the land of Magog prior to the ultimate redemption with the coming of Messiah ben David. And one said that this eulogy is for the evil inclination that was killed.

The Gemara asks: Granted, according to the one who said that the lament is for Messiah ben Yosef who was killed, this would be the meaning of that which is written in that context: “And they shall look unto Me because they have thrust him through; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son” (Zechariah 12:10). (Sukkah 52a)

While the timing in the Gemara is not right, this IS PROOF that the claim that the death of the Messiah was something only Christians saw in the Old Testament is not true. By the way “ben Josef” means “son of Joseph”—which Jesus was considered to be (Luke 3:23; John 1:45).

So, in essence, Sukkah 52a is saying that the Messiah would be considered the son of Joseph and that He would be killed. That was the case with Jesus.

The fact that the Gemara ties Zechariah 12:10 in with the Messiah, should give Jews pause to consider that it is correct for Christians to also tie Zechariah 12:10 in with Jesus (which they do with John 19:34-37; Matthew 27:3).

In addition, because it is tied in with Zechariah, this view of the Messiah being considered as a son of Joseph may well have been the Jewish understanding BEFORE Jesus was born. Perhaps God revealed that to someone, similar to how God’s Spirit revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he saw the Christ (Luke 2:25-26).

Consider also the following from Jewish writer Israel Knohl:

According to the seventh-century apocalyptic text known as Sefer Zerubabel, the “Messiah son of Joseph” was killed by the wicked “Armilus” and was further resurrected by the Messiah son of David and the Prophet Elijah. … Some evidence, however, indicates that the figure of “Messiah son of Joseph” is much older. In some texts from around the turn of the era, we encounter Joseph as a son of God who atones for the sins of others with his suffering. For example, in Joseph and Aseneth, written between 100 B.C.E. and 115 C.E. Joseph is described as “son of God” (6:3, 5, 13:13). Joseph is also called “God’s firstborn son” (18:11, 21:4, 23:10).

In another book from the Second Temple period, The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Testament of Benjamin connects Joseph and the figure of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 52–53. In this testament, Jacob says to Joseph:

“ ‘In you will be fulfilled the heavenly prophecy, which says that the spotless one will be defiled by lawless men and the sinless one will die for the sake of impious men’ “ (emphasis supplied).

These citations suggest that the designation of the suffering Messiah as the “son of Joseph” goes back to sources from the Second Temple period. (Knohl I. The Messiah Son of Joseph “Gabriel’s Revelation” and the birth of a new messianic model. Biblical Archaeology Review 34:5, September/October 2008)

The “Second Temple period” ran from c. 530 BCE to 70 CE/A.D. Thus, the idea of a suffering messiah, as God’s son, is NOT simply a Christian invention. …

Daniel 9

The ninth chapter of the Book of Daniel has been used by various ones claiming Christianity as a type of numeric proof that Jesus was the Messiah.

Actually, it has often been pointed as strong proof of Jesus’ messiahship. Since Christians did not write the Book of Daniel, many believe that Jews (and others) should accept the messiahship of Jesus because of the timing associated with prophecies in Daniel 9.

Notice some of what Daniel was inspired to write:

²⁴ Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sin, and to forgive iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal vision and prophet, and to anoint the most holy place. ²⁵ Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem unto one anointed, a prince, shall be seven weeks; and for threescore and two weeks, it shall be built again, with broad place and moat, but in troublous times. ²⁶ And after the threescore and two weeks shall an anointed one be cut off, and be no more; and the people of a prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; but his end shall be with a flood; and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (Daniel 9:24-26, JPS)

How is this proof of Jesus’ messiahship?

Well, it shows that the Messiah was clearly to come before the Temple is destroyed.

²⁶ Then, after the sixty-two weeks, Mashiach will be cut off and have nothing. The people of a prince yet to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary, but his end will come with a flood, and desolations are decreed until the war is over. (Daniel 9:26, CJB)

The “anointed one” is the Messiah (rendered as the “Mashiach” in the Complete Jewish Bible).

So, the Messiah had to come before the Temple was destroyed. If not, the Bible is not true and Jews should consider the ramification of Daniel 9:26.

Furthermore, the prophecy in Daniel 9:24 ties the timing of the “anointed one/Mashiach” in verse 26, to a decree. This is the decree of Ezra 7:12-26. Daniel also mentions that Jerusalem will be rebuilt and that happened as we can see in the Book of Nehemiah.

Daniel 9:25 says that after the cutting off of the “anointed one” the city (Jerusalem) will be destroyed and the sanctuary (the Temple) will be destroyed as well. The sanctuary/temple was destroyed by General Titus in 70 A.D.

In the Continuing Church of God, we have taught that Jesus was resurrected in 31 A.D. or possibly 30 A.D. (this is also partially based upon the date on the Hebrew calendar Jesus took His last Passover, plus outside confirmation related to darkness that happened per Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, and Luke 23:45). Hence the Temple was destroyed after the Messiah came.

Now, let’s look at an explanation from the old Radio Church of God about the Daniel 9 prophecy:

At the time of Jesus’ life on this earth, Herod — the king in Judea — the wise men from the nations to the east, and many of the priests, scribes, and elders, as well as the common people, realized that the seventy weeks prophecy of Daniel 9 was nearing its completion. The Messiah, the Prince, was eagerly looked forward to, to free them from the yoke of Roman oppression. The Messiah was expected because of an understanding of this prophecy. But He was misunderstood when He appeared in the fulfillment of this prophecy, because they refused to recognize the first portion of the prophecy and hung their hope only on the last portion. …

Here, very plainly, is listed the exact time at which the prophesied Messiah would appear to begin to do the work mentioned in verse 24. The command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was given by Artaxerxes in 457 B.C. Much of the book of Ezra and the entire book of Nehemiah cover this particular event. Seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks equal sixty-nine weeks. So the prophecies show that from the going forth of the command to rebuild Jerusalem in 457 B. C. it would be 483 years until the appearance of the prophesied Messiah to begin fulfilling the works of verse 24. (Hill DJ. HERE’S WHY Jews Reject Jesus and Christians Reject Christ! Plain Truth, April 1962)

Adding 483 to the year 457 B.C. brings the year 27 A.D. (there was no year “zero” between B.C. and A.D.). That brings us to the time that Jesus began His ministry (apparently in the Fall of the year). His ministry is believed to have lasted 3 ½ years, hence the veil would have been torn in the Spring of 31 A.D.

Thus, the ministry of Jesus, as well as the subsequent destruction of Jerusalem is consistent with that prophecy in Daniel 9.

Based on that timing, one would think that the Jews would accept Jesus, but that is generally not the case.

Let’s look at a Jewish argument against Daniel 9:

Christians based their understand {sic} with a belief that the starting point of the prophesy begins in 444 BCE with the decree issued by King Artaxerxex (Ezra 7:11-16). Sixty–nine weeks (483 years) would bring you to 39 CE. This is 7 years off the commonly accepted date of 32 CE being the year Jesus was put to death. …

This seven-year discrepancy is resolved by Christian theologians who redefined the definition of a “year.” They claim that prophecies like Daniel’s are to be understood in “Prophetic years” that have 360 days rather than 365 ¼ days. (Daniel 9 – A True Biblical Interpretation A brief explanation of Daniel Chapter 9. Jews for Judaism http://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/articles/daniel-9-a-true-biblical-interpretation/ accessed 04/24/18)

The two issues with the above are that while some Protestants may have used 444 B.C. as their starting point, the ascension year for King Artaxerxes began in 464 B.C.E., which placed his seventh year as 458-457. So, if you use 365¼ day years, you arrive at 26-27 A.D.

Let’s look at what Ezra recorded (some verses not included for space):

7 And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. 8 And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. (Ezra 7:7-8, JPS)

11 Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of His statutes to Israel:

12 “Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, and so forth. And now 13 I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and their priests and the Levites, in my realm, that are minded of their own free will to go with thee to Jerusalem, go. (Ezra 7:11-13, JPS)

25 And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God that is in thy hand, appoint magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people that are beyond the River, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye him that knoweth them not. 26 And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him with all diligence, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.”

27 Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem; (Ezra 7:25-27, JPS)

Now, the two main Jewish arguments against the timing seem to be 1) which decree, by whom, and when and 2) the anointed one does not have to be the Messiah (Jews for Judaism; other Jewish sources were also consulted to conclude this).

Yet, if one accepts the decree in Ezra 7 and that Daniel 9 was referring to the Messiah as the Anointed One (as the Complete Jewish Bible and other sources confirm), all should accept that Jesus fulfilled the timing of that.

According to Jewish writer, Abba Hillel Silver, many Jews did expect the Messiah during the first century:

The Book of Daniel, the one canonized apocalyptic tract out of many which were widely circulated and held in high regard by the people dwelt upon the mystery of the “end of days” …

Prior to the first century, Messianic interest was not excessive …

The first century … witnessed a remarkable outburst of Messianic emotionalism. This is to be attributed … to the prevalent belief induced by the popular chronology of that day (Silver AH. The History of Messianic Speculation in Israel. Written 1927. Kessinger Publishing paperback 2010, pp. 4,5)

So, there was a lot of Messianic expectation in the first century, based upon calculations from writings such as Daniel.

Shlomo Yitzchaki, also known as Rashi (RAbbi SHlomo ben Isaac), of the 11^th century, wrote about Daniel 9:24,26:

Seventy weeks [of years] have been decreed on Jerusalem from the day of the first destruction in the days of Zedekiah until it will be [destroyed] the second time. to terminate the transgression and to end sin so that Israel should receive their complete retribution in the exile of Titus and his subjugation, in order that their transgressions should terminate, their sins should end, and their iniquities should be expiated, in order to bring upon them eternal righteousness and to anoint upon them (sic) the Holy of Holies: the Ark, the altars, and the holy vessels, which they will bring to them through the king Messiah. The number of seven weeks is four hundred and ninety years. The Babylonian exile was seventy [years] and the Second Temple stood four hundred and twenty [years]. …

And after those weeks. the anointed one will be cut off. Agrippa, the king of Judea, who was ruling at the time of the destruction, will be slain and he will be no more Heb. וְאֵין לוֹ, and he will not have. The meaning is that he will not be the anointed one Heb. מָשִׁיחַ. This is purely an expression of a prince and a dignitary and the city and the Sanctuary lit. and the city and the Holy and the people of the coming monarch will destroy [The monarch who will come] upon them. That is Titus and his armies. (Rashi. Judaica Press Complete Tanach, Daniel – Chapter 9)

So, Rashi admitted Daniel 9 was a messianic prophecy that was fulfilled about the time of Jesus.

“Herod” Marcus Julius Agrippa was king of Judah from around A.D. 27—basically the same time Jesus started His ministry. So, if the timing of Agrippa is right like Rashi wrote, then obviously the timing of Jesus was in accordance with Daniel 9:24-26.

As far as Agrippa goes, the Jews revolted against him in 66. Later, he helped the Romans and their general Titus conquer Jerusalem. Agrippa was rewarded for his efforts in helping Rome and lived and reigned decades after the fall of Jerusalem. King Agrippa II was not the anointed “King Messiah.”

As far as Rashi goes, apparently the reason for the messiahship going to Agrippa was because of Israel’s sins. Rashi also declared:

After 2000 years of Torah it was God’s decree that the Messiah would come and the wicked generation would come to an end and the subjugation of Israel would be destroyed.

But Jesus did come at the right time and the Temple was afterwards destroyed as was prophesied in Daniel 9:24-26.

Consider further that Abraham ibn Ezra (1092-1167), who is considered one of the most distinguished Jewish biblical commentators in the Middle Ages, also taught “Daniel … (chap. 9) leads up to Titus and the destruction” (Silver, pp. 212,213).

So, even Jewish authorities have agreed that Daniel 9 was pointing to the time of Jesus.

Yet, notice something related to some messianic teachings in the Talmud:

The Messiah will come not in accordance with the opinion of our Rabbis, (Sanhedrin 97b, v. 5)

Of course, the Messiah comes in accordance with scripture and God’s plan. Yet it may be that the above came out because Daniel 9 pointed to Jesus and as well as the disappointment associated trying to time Daniel 9 with Simon Bar Kokhba.

Jews should accept the “chronology” of Daniel 9 which clearly pointed to the time of Jesus and the subsequent Temple destruction.

There is no doubt the Temple was destroyed.

There should be no doubt that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah. (Thiel B. Proof Jesus is the Messiah. Nazarene Books, 2019)

For more details on Jesus, as well as why Jews (and others) should believe that Jesus is the Messiah, see our free online book: Proof Jesus is the Messiah.

Jesus was the prophesied Messiah. Those who do not fully accept that, Jew or Gentile, do so to their peril.

Some items of related interest may include:

Proof Jesus is the Messiah This free book has over 200 Hebrew prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus. Plus, His arrival was consistent with specific prophecies and even Jewish interpretations of prophecy. Here are links to seven related sermons: Proof Jesus is the Messiah, Prophecies of Jesus’ birth, timing, and death, Jesus’ prophesied divinity, 200+ OT prophecies Jesus filled; Plus prophecies He made, Why Don’t Jews Accept Jesus?, Daniel 9, Jews, and Jesus, and Facts and Atheists’ Delusions About Jesus. Plus the links to two sermonettes: Luke’s census: Any historical evidence? and Muslims believe Jesus is the Messiah, but … These videos cover nearly all of the book, plus have some information not in the book.
What About Romans 11:25 and the Full Number of the Gentiles? Some in the West discount God’s calling of Gentiles, but the Apostle Paul wrote about the need for them to come to the truth before Jesus returns. Two somewhat related videos are available Gentiles and When Will Jesus Return? and Puerto Rico, Trials, and Triumphs.
What is the Ezekiel Warning? Should the end-time descendants of Israel and Joseph be warned? What should the watchman warn about? Regarding a watchman, you can watch the following video: Go, Set a Watchman.
Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation Will all get a fair chance at salvation? This free book is packed with scriptures showing that God does intend to offer salvation to all who ever lived–the elect in this age, and the rest in the age to come. Here is a link to a related sermon series: Universal Offer of Salvation 1: Apocatastasis, Universal Offer of Salvation 2: Jesus Desires All to be Saved, Mysteries of the Great White Throne Judgment (Universal Offer of Salvation part 3), Is God Fair?, Will God Pardon the Ignorant?, Can God Save Your Relatives?, Babies, Limbo, Purgatory and God’s Plan, and ‘By the Mouth of All His Holy Prophets’.
All the Prophets Spoke of Apocatastasis The Apostle Peter said all the prophets spoke about “apokatastasis. Do you know what that is? Watch also ‘By the Mouth of All His Holy Prophets’.
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism The CCOG is NOT Protestant. This free online book explains how the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants. Several sermons related to the free book are also available: Protestant, Baptist, and CCOG History; The First Protestant, God’s Command, Grace, & Character; The New Testament, Martin Luther, and the Canon; Eucharist, Passover, and Easter; Views of Jews, Lost Tribes, Warfare, & Baptism; Scripture vs. Tradition, Sabbath vs. Sunday; Church Services, Sunday, Heaven, and God’s Plan; Seventh Day Baptists/Adventists/Messianics: Protestant or COG?; Millennial Kingdom of God and God’s Plan of Salvation; Crosses, Trees, Tithes, and Unclean Meats; The Godhead and the Trinity; Fleeing or Rapture?; and Ecumenism, Rome, and CCOG Differences.

Cardinal Raymond Burke
(Photo by Henry Lithgow via Wikipedia)

COGwriter

Many in the Roman Catholic world have been concerned about the upcoming conclave to elect the next pope.

Here is a report from a Roman Catholic source about potential candidates:

May 6, 2025

After a week of gathering momentum, the swell of support behind Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost appears to have stalled, with Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga reportedly leaving Rome in frustration after failing to secure unanimous backing for him among Latin American cardinals — with some even said to be favoring the African Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo.

Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, too, appears to have hit a ceiling in the pre-conclave general congregations, with solid support among other Asian cardinals, but failing to make a decisive breakthrough among the global body and convince them he could govern with the same strength with which he preaches.

European cardinals appear to be splitting their votes several ways, with “conservatives” mostly gravitating towards Hungarian Cardinal Péter Erdő, and more liberal voices increasingly giving France’s Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline consideration.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, long pitched as the natural centrist compromise candidate, has seen his support ebb amid reflections on his record as both a curial administrator and Vatican diplomat.

In short, contrary to the expectations of received wisdom, the more the cardinals have tried to get to know each other over their two weeks in Rome, the farther they seem to have moved from any kind of consensus on who should be the next pope. https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/enter-cardinal-mamberti

There are also two men I am watching which were not in the above list. Furthermore, Hungarian Cardinal Péter Erdő looks to be one to watch, because of the Malachy prophecy of ‘Peter the Roman’ as well as Hungary’s tie to the ‘Holy Roman Empire.’

Cardinal Raymond Burke, who long had issues with Pope Francis, raised concerns about who might be the next pope. NewsMax reported the following related to a video he made:

Cardinal Burke Video: Church in ‘Great Danger’ as Conclave Meets

One of the late Pope Francis‘ critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, is warning about “great trial and danger” in the Catholic Church in a new video he released on his social media as the Conclave sets to meet this Wednesday.

“I plead for the church at the time of great trial and danger for her,” Cardinal Burke says in a prayer he reads kneeling before an altar, where he appealed to Our Lady of Guadelupe to intervene and aid the Cardinals in selecting the next Pontiff.

“Please intercede for the sacred college of Cardinals gathered in Rome to elect the successor of St. Peter, Vicar of Christ, shepherd for the universal church. …

Burke … is considered one of the strongest traditionalists in the coming Conclave and publicly disagreed with a number of Pope Francis’ controversial positions, including priestly blessings for same-sex couples. https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/vatican-cardinal-burke/2025/05/04/id/1209507/

The next pope may be the one that the Bible prophesies who “had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon” (Revelation 13:11).

People, including cardinals, should not be praying to the ‘Lady of Guadalupe’ for anything. That said, the ‘Lady of Guadalupe’ actually was a major factor in much of Latin American becoming Roman Catholic.

Related to aspects of that, the Continuing Church of God put out the following video on our Bible New Prophecy YouTube channel:

Cardinal Burke: Pope would be leading a schism if he endorsed errors in Amazon Synod working doc

Cardinal Raymond Burke, one of the Church’s most outspoken defenders of perennial Catholic teaching, suggested that Pope Francis could be leading a “schism” if he were to put his “stamp” of approval on the Amazon Synod’s controversial working document that has been criticized by top-ranking prelates, including Burke, as constituting apostasy, heresy, and “false teaching”. …

“While the final document [from the Amazon Synod which concluded Oct. 27] is less explicit in the embrace of pantheism, it does not repudiate the statements in the working document which constitute an apostasy from the Catholic faith,” stated Burke.

“The working document doesn’t have doctrinal value. But what if the pope were to put his stamp on that document? People say if you don’t accept that, you’ll be in schism — and I maintain that I would not be in schism because the document contains elements that defect from the apostolic tradition. So my point would be the document is schismatic. I’m not.”

Douthat then pressed Burke to explain the implications of the Pope backing a document that is schismatic, stating: “But how can that be possible? You’re effectively implying that the pope would be leading a schism.”

To which Burke replied: “Yes.”

Douthat then asked: “Isn’t that a deep contradiction of how Catholics think about the office of the papacy?”

Burke responded: “Of course. Exactly. It’s a total contradiction. And I pray that this wouldn’t happen. And to be honest with you, I don’t know how to address such a situation. As far as I can see, there’s no mechanism in the universal law of the church to deal with such a situation.” …

Cardinal Burke told a Catholic conference in Detroit on Oct. 26 that “there is no question that the Church is currently experiencing one of the greatest crises which she has ever known.” 11/11/19 https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-burke-pope-francis-would-be-leading-a-schism-if-he-endorsed-amazon-synod-working-doc

Perhaps it should be pointed out that Cardinal Burke also warned about the Amazonian Synod before it began (see Pope Francis invites religious, political leaders to sign ‘Global Pact’ for ‘new humanism’: Prelude to a schism or the Antichrist?).

While pontiff, Francis basically has ignored protests as he pushed his interfaith and ecumenical agendas. Notice also:

15:31

Pope Francis signs ‘one world religion’ document!

On February 4, 2019, at the ‘ Global Conference on Human Fraternity,’ Pope Francis and leading Sunni Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb signed a document that some suspect may lead towards a “one world religion.” The World Council of Churches (WCC) General Secretary, Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, who also attended, pushed for religious leaders and institutions to push towards a particular cooperative agenda to help bring world peace. Will there be real peace or just a temporary one? Will destruction come to the USA and nations in the Middle East and North Africa? What will be some characteristics of this “one world religion’? Will all have the same religious practices? Might it have commonalities with the ancient Roman Empire? The Grand Mosque in the UAE was renamed “Mary, Mother of Jesus.” Will Catholic, Islamic, and even Hindu reverence for Marian figures play a role? Is that part of the plan? Should real Christians support the interfaith and ecumenical agendas or remain separate from them? What does the Bible teach? What did Jesus teach? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.

Here is a link to that video: Pope Francis signs ‘one world religion’ document!

One symbol that the Vatican used for an interfaith conference was a ‘Chrislam Cross.’ We also put together a related video related to the Chrislam Cross and the interfaith movement:

What is Chrislam? What are the two forms of it? Did the Vatican unveil the Chrislam Cross? How does it look? Are Christianity and Islam theologically compatible? What does the ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church’ say? What about the Bible and the Quran? Did Pope Francis and Sunni Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb sign an important interfaith document on February 4, 2019? Do biblical and Islamic prophecies point to a deal between the Europeans and Arabs that will be broken? Do Catholic and Islamic writings support the view that Mary and/or apparitions of ‘Mary’ may lead to temporary cooperation between the Arabs and Europeans? Will such cooperation bring lasting peace or war? Have any of the Eastern Orthodox warned of the danger in using ‘Mary’ to push the interfaith and ecumenical movements? Is there a ‘Mary, Mother of Jesus mosque? Should you wish to be part of the Chrislam movement? What does the Bible teach? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.

Here is a link to the sermonette video: The Chrislam Cross and the Interfaith Movement.

Related to this Amazonian Synod and pagan female images, we put out the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

22:31

Vatican’s Babylonian Amazonian Religion

In front of Pope Francis, on October 4, 2019, the Vatican hosted an Amazonian tree-planting ceremony in where people bowed down to a circle around to semi-naked pagan female images. Vatican News promoted this. Some Catholics are concerned that the Amazonian synod is leading to two Catholic faiths: the traditional one and one that is being called the “Amazonian Religion.” The Vatican has also been promoting an interfaith agenda with the Jews and Muslims with the “Higher Committee of Human Fraternity,” and its first major project, the “Abrahamid Family House” (which is set to open in 2022). Are these good things for Christians? WIll they lead to the rise of Babylonian Beast and Antichrist power? What does the Bible warn about this? Do both the Bible and certain Catholic writings show that the Church of Rome will be betrayed by powers it will align with? Is some type of one world religion being worked on? If so, is the Vatican, World Council of Churches, certain Muslims, and the United Nations involved? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.

Here is a link to our video: Vatican’s Babylonian Amazonian Religion.

Pope Francis took other steps after that Amazonian Synod as well. So here is a link to another BNP video:

19:59

Pachamama: Pope Francis declares Black Madonna

An Amazonian synod was held in the Vatican in October 2019 that featured naked female statues called Pachamama. On October 31, 2019, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis declared a new ‘holiday’ for the Black Madonna known as the Lady of Loreto. This is to observed by those who follow that on December 10th each year. What are “Black Madonnas” vs. “black Madonnas”? Are there ties between Black Madonnas and black female “Mother Earth” goddesses? Could the promotion of Black Madonnas and Pachamamas be related to steps towards a one world religion? Did a Catholic archbishop state that Pope Francis is moving “towards an Indistinct Universal religion” and a “worldwide and stateless Pantheon? Should real Christians be part of this? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.

Here is a link: Pachamama Pope Francis declares Black Madonna.

Some have hinted that Pope Francis is an antipope. Back in November 2014, we put out the following video where we also mentioned Raymond Burke:

While, in a sense Pope Francis is functioning like an antipope, he is either setting the stage for more of one to follow or he will become much more of one in the future.

What he has been doing is a prelude to the coming final Antichrist.

Pope Francis has been setting the antipope/antichrist stage by openly pushing views that contradict aspects of the Roman Catholic “living Magisterium” (which is the accepted “tradition” that is supposed to define Catholic doctrine and practice).

The coming ‘antipope,’ who biblically sounds like the final Antichrist, will not only reject scripture, but will betray the Church of Rome.

Pope Francis is setting a precedent.

Biblical prophecies show that Rome (cf. Revelation 17:1-9, 18) will be betrayed (Revelation 17:16-18) and that the Antichrist/False Prophet will survive that betrayal until Jesus returns (Revelation 19:19-20).

Let me pointed out that biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies warn of betrayal of the Church of Rome by some ecclesiastical authority who sounds like an antipope.

If the next pope “performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. … he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast” (Revelation 13:13-14) he would look to be the one prophesied in Revelation 13:11-17.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Will the Interfaith Movement Lead to Peace or Sudden Destruction? Is the interfaith movement going to lead to lasting peace or is it warned against? A video sermon of related interest is: Will the Interfaith Movement lead to World War III? and three video sermonette are also available:  Pope Francis signs ‘one world religion’ document! and The Chrislam Cross and the Interfaith Movement and Do You Know That Babylon is Forming?
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.
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 Eastern/Greek Orthodox view Mary? How might Mary view her adorers? Here is a link to a related sermon video: Truth About Mary, Mother of Jesus. Here is a link to a YouTube video Marian Apparitions May Fulfill Prophecy. Here is a link to a sermon video: Why Learn About Fatima?
Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies: Do They Mirror, Highlight, or Contradict Biblical Prophecies? People of all faiths may be surprised to see what various Roman and Orthodox Catholic prophets have been predicting as many of their predictions will be looked to in the 21st century.
The ‘Lady’ of Guadalupe: Any Future Ramifications? It is claimed that a female apparition appeared near Mexico City on December 12, 1531. How has it affected the world? What might it suggest about the future? A video of related interest is titled: The ‘Lady of Guadalupe’ and Prophecy.
The Last Pope: Do Biblical and Catholic Prophecies Point to Pope Francis? Amazon Book What does the Bible say about a pope near this time? Is the final pope to be an antipope and antichrist? Does Roman Catholic prophecy point to Pope Francis as being the dreaded “Peter the Roman”? This 186 page book provides information and answers.

Catholic rendition of ‘Mary’

COGwriter

In a May newsletter, Mike Gendron had the following:

Another Mary, Quite Contrary

Catholics not only worship another Jesus and believe another gospel, they also embrace another Mary. In 1854, Pope Pius IX established the immaculate conception of Mary as an infallible dogma, which states Mary was preserved from inheriting original sin. The dogma encourages all Catholics: “to venerate, invoke and pray to the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, conceived without original sin. And since she has been appointed by God to be the Queen of heaven and earth, and is exalted above all the choirs of angels and saints, and even stands at the right hand of her only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, she presents our petitions in a most efficacious manner. What she asks, she obtains. Her pleas can never be unheard.”

This heretical dogma has established Mary as a co-redeemer with Christ and co-mediator with Him. This makes her another way to approach God. She replaces the Holy Spirit in bestowing aid and comfort to believers. In effect, she has been given many divine attributes, including Mother of the eternal Son of God. Scripture has very little to say about Mary. When she appears with the other believers on the day of Pentecost, she’s not an object of worship or even a leader in the early church. There are no occasions of anyone ever praying to her, honoring her, or venerating her. Peter preached that it is Jesus who is at the right hand of God, not Mary at Christ’s right hand, as the papal dogma declares (Acts 2:33). She is never mentioned in any presentation of the Gospel. Jesus Christ alone is our Redeemer, Deliverer, Mediator and Advocate. He alone is to be worshiped, adored, honored and praised, now and throughout all eternity! May Catholics repent of their distortion of Mary and put their trust in Jesus, the only sinless Mediator!

May is a month that the Church of Rome dedicates to their version of Mary. A version that differs from what the Bible teaches. A version that needs to be warned against.

Here is some information:

For Mary’s month of May, Pope Francis has recommended the “simple and effective” prayer of the rosary.

At his weekly General Audience … May 3, 2017, Francis gave pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square this advice: “At the beginning of May, let us invoke the heavenly intercession of Mary, Mother of Jesus.”

During his greetings to Polish pilgrims, the Pope invited the crowd to applaud the Virgin Mary “Queen of Poland” on the day of the national holiday.

While to young people, Francis urged, “learn to pray with the simple and effective prayer of the rosary,” to sick people, he encouraged, “may the Blessed Virgin be your support in the trial of suffering.” 05/03/17 https://zenit.org/articles/for-marys-month-of-may-pope-suggests-simple-effective-prayer-of-rosary/

Of course, only Jesus is our intercessor/mediator:

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5, NKJV).

For there is one God, one also mediator of God and men, man Christ JESUS (1 Timothy 2:5, RNT).

Thus any others who claim to be a mediator clearly contradict the Bible (from both the Roman Catholic and Protestant translations) and CANNOT BE OF GOD.

The so-called ‘Lady of Fatima,’ which showed itself to three young children in Portugal on May 13, 1917 (which Pope Francis wanted to celebrate on May 13, 2017), urged people to pray the rosary. Few seem to realize the origin of the rosary. The rosary is not mentioned in the Bible but was added because of a “private Catholic prophecy” to the Catholic church over 1000 years after it was founded (Dupont, Yves. Catholic Prophecy: The Coming Chastisement. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1973, p.9).

Some feel that the rosary either came from St. Dominic or later Dominicans as the result of an apparition:

Some histories of the rosary claim this tradition, too, originated with Saint Dominic. One legend holds that the Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Dominic in the church of Prouille, in 1208, and gave the rosary to him. However, other sources dispute this attribution and suggest that its roots were in the preaching of Alan de Rupe between 1470-1475. (Saint Dominic. New World Encyclopedia. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Saint_Dominic viewed 06/29/11 )

Here is information from The Catholic Encyclopedia on the development of the rosary:

Impressed by this conspiracy of silence, the Bollandists, on trying to trace to its source the origin of the current tradition, found that all the clues converged upon one point, the preaching of the Dominican Alan de Rupe about the years 1470-75. He undoubtedly was the one who first suggested the idea that the devotion of “Our Lady’s Psalter” (a hundred and fifty Hail Mary’s) was instituted or revived by St. Dominic. Alan was a very earnest and devout man, but, as the highest authorities admit, he was full of delusions, and based his revelations on the imaginary testimony of writers that never existed (see Quetif and Echard, “Scriptores O.P.”, 1, 849).

The Continuing Church of God is pleased to suggest three videos on our YouTube channel called Bible New Prophecy which explains some of the risks associated with Marianism: