Pope’s Excommunication of Martin Luther and Do Catholic Writings Suggest that an Antipope will be the Antichrist?

View in Vatican City (photo by Joyce Thiel)

The Vatican is going to put more pronouncements on public display:

AFP – Aug 11, 2011

The Vatican will display the papal ruling to excommunicate Germany’s Martin Luther dated January 3, 1521 in an exhibition of hundreds of priceless documents from its secret archives…Among the displays will be Gregory VII’s “Dictatus Papae” from the 11th century in which the pontiff affirmed the supremacy of popes over any power on earth as well as documents linked to Pius XII’s pontificate during World War II. The exhibition will run for seven months in the Capitoline Museums. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iwmKFl-PfuZPUHc2bd81tBrUMh3A?docId=CNG.69a031d0d1e11d0b429c6e5dad5c9d34.a1

Of course, most know that Martin Luther claimed that the pope was antichrist, but he was not the first as the Paulicians and Waldensians taught this centuries earlier. Yet what most do not seem to realize that various Catholic writings somewhat support the view that the final Antichrist will be a compromised cleric, sometimes referred to as an antipope.

Notice the following Catholic writings:

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.

Nun Anna-Katarina Emmerick (19th century): I saw again a new and odd-looking Church which they were trying to build. There was nothing holy about it…

Yves Dupont (writer interpreting A. Emmerick above), 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. (Dupont, pp. 115,116)

Jeanne le Royer (died 1978): I see that when the Second Coming of Christ approaches a bad priest will do much harm to the Church. (Culligan, E. The Last World War and the End of Time. The book was blessed by Pope Paul VI, 1966. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), p. 128)

Yves Dupont (reader and reporter of Catholic prophecies): prophecies are quite explicit about the election of an anti-pope…Many prophecies predict an anti-pope and a schism. (Dupont, pp. 34,60-61)

Blessed Joachim (died 1202): Towards the end of the world Antichrist will overthrow the Pope and usurp his See. (Connor, Edward. Prophecy for Today. Imprimatur + A.J. Willinger, Bishop of Monterey-Fresno; Reprint: Tan Books and Publishers, Rockford (IL), 1984, p. 76)

Bl. Anna-Maria Taigi (19th century): After the three days of darkness…a new Pope…Christianity, then, will spread throughout the world…At the end, he will have the gift of miracles, and his name shall be praised over the whole earth. (Dupont, p.45)

Ted and Maureen Flynn (20th century): Catholic prophecy warns us of severe problems facing the papacy in these end times…chaos will be within our midst. An Antipope will seize papal authority…It will be those who hold fast to the truths of the faith who will be labeled as the perpetrators of this horrible schism, according to some visionaries. (Flynn Ted and Maureen. The Thunder of Justice. MaxKol Communications, Inc. Sterling (VA), 1993, p. 255)

Merlin (7th century): There will come a German Anti-Pope. Italy and Germany will be sorely troubled. (Culleton, R. Gerald. The Prophets and Our Times. Nihil Obstat: L. Arvin. Imprimatur: Philip G. Scher, Bishop of Monterey-Fresno, November 15, 1941. Reprint 1974, TAN Books, Rockford (IL), p. 132)

St. Hildegard (died 1179): But now you see her from the waist down; for you see her in her full dignity as the Church…And from her waist to the place that denotes the female, she has various scaly blemishes… … And thus in the place where the female is recognized is a black and monstrous head. For the son of perdition will come raging with the arts he first used to seduce…causing people to deny God and tainting their minds and tearing the Church with the greed of rapine. (Hildegard of Bingen. Scivias. Paulist Press, Mahwah (NJ), pp. 497,498)

Comment by Barbara Newman (1998): But as early as Scivias, Hildegard shockingly portrayed Ecclesia {the Catholic Church} as giving birth to Antichrist himself…Some other early works of Hildegard’s, written before 1159, show a similar sourness of tone with respect to the institutional church. (Newman, Barbara. Voice of the Living Light: Hildegard of Bingen and Her World. Published by University of California Press, 1998, p. 83)

Abbott Joachim (died 1202): A man of remarkable sanctity will be his successor in the Pontifical chair. Through him God will work so many prodigies that all men shall revere him. (Connor, pp. 31-32)

Saint Zenobius (died 285): Antichrist will work a thousand prodigies on earth. (Connor, p. 73)

St. Hildegard (died 1179): When the great ruler exterminates the Turks almost entirely, one of the remaining Mohammedans will be converted…will kill the pope before he is crowned, through jealousy, he wishing to be pope himself; then when the other cardinals elect the next pope this cardinal will proclaim himself Anti-Pope, and two thirds of the Christians will go with him. He, also well as Antichrist, are descendants of Dan. (Culleton, The Reign of Antichrist, p. 128)

Pope Gregory the Great (died 604): In those days, near the end, hardly a Bishop, but an army of priests and two-thirds of the Christians will join the Schism. (Culleton, R. Gerald. The Reign of Antichrist, Reprint TAN Books, Rockford, IL, 1974, p. 122)

Catechism of the Catholic Church (20th century): Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a trial that will shake the faith of many believers. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #675, Imprimatur Potest +Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. Doubleday, NY 1995, pp. 193-194)

St. Francis of Assisi (died 1226): There will be an uncanonically elected pope who will cause a great Schism, there will be divers thoughts preached which will cause many, even those in the different orders to doubt, yea even agree with the heretics, which will cause my Order to divide. (Culleton, R. Gerald. The Reign of Antichrist, p. 130)

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

Priest O’Connor (20th century?): This final false prophet will be a bishop of the church and will lead all religions into becoming one. (The False Prophet. Living in the Final Generation. http://www.geocities.com/rebornempowered/ApparitionsofMary.htm 10/12/07)

Priest Paul Kramer (21st 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. (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)

Thus many Catholic writers have indicated that a new type of “Catholicism” will be false to that religion. And that the ecumenical religion will be seemingly Catholic. The Bible warns of a seemingly ecumenical religion that will affect the world soon (Revelation 13:4-11).

It would seem that the Antichrist/antipope may be inclined to claim that Gregory VII’s “Dictatus Papae” gives him supremacy over any power on earth.

There is an unusual throne in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Since first seeing it, I considered it to be “Satan’s Throne”. In 1987, I and dozens of others were told by a Worldwide Church of God minister that Joseph Tkach, Sr. had visited it and stated that he felt that this was Satan’s throne. This particular throne is black and the bottom of its legs is at least 5 feet off of the ground (the first time I saw it you could go up to it–the last time, in 2010–the area was roped off at least 50 feet). Despite odd claims (like one I saw at Wikipedia concerning Peter) no one allegedly has ever sat in it. Some believe that the final pope on Malachy’s list, Peter the Roman, will sit on it (this would seem to be an antipope/Antichrist, a major henchman for Satan).

Now while I do not believe that the current Pope Benedict XVI is the final Antichrist any more than Martin Luther was, Catholic prophecy indicates that the next pope will be the antipope if certain Catholic prophecies are correct (this is explained in detail in my book 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect). The fact that we are getting closer to the end of humanity’s 6,000 years to rule itself apart from God on this planet is getting very close, suggests that it is possible that there may only be one more pope.

Those who wish to learn why the ecumenical discussions are dangerous may wish to read the following articles:

Who Were the Paulicians? Were any Paulicians faithful Christians? What happened to them? Why might they have developed the papal-antichrist theory?
Some Doctrines of Antichrist Are there any doctrines taught outside the Churches of God which can be considered as doctrines of antichrist? This article suggests at least three. It also provides information on 666 and the identity of “the false prophet”. Plus it shows that several Catholic writers seem to warn about an ecumenical antipope that will support heresy.
Is There an Islamic Antichrist?Is Joel Richardson correct that the final Antichrist will be Islamic and not European? Find out.
Waldensian Treatise on Antichrist These are translated extracts from a likely 13th/14th century paper titled A Treatise concerning Antichrist, Purgatory, the Invocation of Saints, and the Sacraments.
The Similarities and Dissimilarities between Martin Luther and Herbert W. Armstrong This article clearly shows some of the doctrinal differences between in the two. At this time of doctrinal variety and a tendency by many to accept certain aspects of Protestantism, the article should help clarify why the Living Church of God is NOT Protestant. Do you really know what the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther taught and should you follow his doctrinal example?
Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2018 or 2019?
Why Should American Catholics Should Fear Unity with the Orthodox? Are the current ecumenical meetings a good thing or will they result in disaster?
Orthodox Must Reject Unity with the Roman Catholics The talks for unification involve compromise and the apparent rising up of a changed religion that no one should accept.
Sola Scriptura or Prima Luther? What Did Martin Luther Really Believe About the Bible? Though he is known for his public sola Scriptura teaching, did Martin Luther’s writings about the Bible suggest he felt that prima Luther was his ultimate authority? Statements from him changing and/or discounting 18 books of the Bible are included. Do you really want to know the truth?
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.