Nearing Midnight: Pope Francis’ Love Gospel – Todd Strandberg – http://www.raptureready.com/rap16.html

The election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio as head of the Catholic Church has quickly become a huge public relations triumph for the Vatican. Pope Francis has gained admirers by reaching out to the common man and approaching his job with a level of humility unseen in the modern age.

Pope Francis has received good press by carrying his own bags, paying his own bills, and by refusing to stay in the elaborate papal suite at the Vatican. He also made himself the accessible pope, setting aside layers of security that was put in place after the assassination attempt on John Paul II.

There is no doubt that Pope Francis has made all the right moves to gain popularity with the public, but the truth should never be compromised just to please mankind. He seems to be doing just that by making statements that are designed to appeal to the moral standards of today.

I instantly knew the Pope was going down a dangerous path when asked about gay priests. He replied, “Who am I to judge?” I would argue that he doesn’t have the authority to change moral law. The Catholic system supposedly gives him authority, so he judges. But he has obviously chosen to trust in his own wisdom, not in the wisdom found in the word of God. Here is a quote from Pope Francis goes into greater detail of his love over morality stance:

A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: “Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?” We must always consider the person. Here we enter into the mystery of the human being. In life, God accompanies persons, and we must accompany them, starting from their situation. It is necessary to accompany them with mercy. When that happens, the Holy Spirit inspires the priest to say the right thing.

Pope Francis went on to fault the Roman Catholic Church for focusing too much on gays, abortion and contraception. He said the church has become “obsessed” with those issues to the detriment of its larger mission to be a “home for all.”

The statement that I found to be the most shocking was when he said that atheists don’t need to believe in God to gain God’s favor. Even some of the more liberal Catholics must have been puzzled to here him say: “Given that – and this is the key point – God’s mercy has no limits, if you go to Him with a sincere and repentant heart, the issue for those who do not believe in God is to obey their conscience.”

I find Pope Francis’ coziness with the world to be a very troubling sign. When you have the godless liberal media saying, “Hey, I like this guy,” something is wrong. The Bible warns that the true gospel message will normally cause people to be offended.

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me” (John 15:18-21).

When Pope Francis was elected to office in March, there was a great deal of speculation over his connection to Bible prophecy. The Malachy prophecy had people expecting someone of sinister look and commanding temperament to emerge from the curtain. Pope Francis’ mild personality has caused the end-time chatter to fade.

Humility may in fact by the real sign that Pope Francis is a possible candidate for the role of False Prophet. Revelation describes this person as a beast with two horns like a lamb. It will most likely take someone of a kind and flattering nature to bring the world together under the Harlot church system. The Pope has already made statements that imply all religions being on equal footing with each other. We will know for certain that we are in the last of the last days if he starts calling for an alliance of all faiths.

“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed” (Revelation 13:11-12).