Preparing The Way for The False Prophet
NBC News called him a “Catholic Church reformer.” CBS reminded us he was populist, often called the “People’s Pope.” Born born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, assumed the Papacy in 2013 at the resignation of Pope Benedict. He championed causes outside the normal realm of the Catholic Church. He was a climate change advocate, an apologist for open borders and unlimited immigration and reached out a hand to the LGBTQ community. Most notably, from a biblical standpoint, he figuratively opened the door of salvation to those of other faiths – even those that expressly reject Jesus. Therein lies the rub!
While Pope Francis is receiving accolades from many, the conservative elements in the Roman Church are not holding back. His long-time critic, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, wrote a scathing piece in which he said of Francis, “He will have to account for the crimes he has committed.” The Archbishop explained. “In 2018, Eugenio Scalfari reported the words that Bergoglio supposedly confided to him about his vision of the afterlife:
Sinful souls are not punished: those who repent obtain God’s forgiveness and join the ranks of souls who contemplate him, but those who do not repent and cannot therefore be forgiven disappear. There is no hell, sinful souls simply disappear.”[i] If that is true, it directly contradicts biblical truth and the teachings of Jesus. While I’ve seen them before, I cannot confirm the validity of Scalfari’s allegations. Still, there is a trove of confirmable evidence that the positions taken by Pope Francis were at odds with the teachings of the Bible. I’ve written about this several times in the past. But today, I’ll use as a source for much of this, an article by David Reagan of Lamb & Lion Ministry, since he has so neatly packaged it up for us. Here is the link to the article.
Bergoglio began his career in his native Argentina modeling himself on St Francis of Assisi in his poverty and humility. Those noble aspirations led him to embrace Liberation Theology and “The Social Gospel, which became popular in many mainline Protestant denominations beginning in the 1920s. His “concern for social justice ended up triumphing over evangelism.” By the time he became Pontiff his Leftist, anti-capitalist tendencies were well entrenched. His term in office was filled with – to say the least – controversial – and many times anti-biblical statements. Here are some examples. [And I believe the pattern defines the man.]
- He said he would be willing to baptize space aliens.
- In 2016 he declared, ““I do not believe it is right to identify Islam with violence.”
- In 2013 he announced that atheists could enter Heaven “if they lead good and honorable lives.”[ii]
- He was asked if homosexuals could be priests. His answer: “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”
- He said that proselytizing was “solemn nonsense.”
- He painted Capitalism as an “economy of exclusion and inequality,” and called it the “dung of the devil.”
- “Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters.”
- In a video he said that all the major religions are paths to the same God. “The video then closed with the Pope expressing his belief that regardless of religious profession, ‘we are all children of God.’” Here is the full quote. “Many think differently, feel differently, seeking God or meeting God in different ways. In this crowd, in this range of religions, there is only one certainty that we have for all: we are all children of God.”
- [Let’s give this some scriptural reference here. John 1:10-13 settles the matter. “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” In Acts 4:12, Peter is speaking of the crucified Jesus. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”]
- In 2020 Francis called for open borders and an end to Capitalism.
- In 2023 he declared Catholic priests could bless same sex couples.
- In May of 2023, the Pope stood Christian teaching on its’ head, arguing for universalism. “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the blood of Christ — not just Catholics. Everyone! Even the atheists. Everyone! . . . We must meet one another doing good.”
- [OK, let’s look to the scripture again to point out his error. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
- The next September he expanded on those remarks. “There’s only one God, and each of us has a language to arrive at God. Some are Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, and they are different paths [to God].” [Francis was at least consistent in undermining biblical truth!]
Just The Next Stop On A Long Road
When considering the modern history of the Catholic Church, you realize that positions Pope Francis took were not that great a departure from those of the last several pontiffs. In the early 1960s Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council that lasted several years and changed the nature of Catholicism. Here is a quote from one of its’ declarations, Luman Gentium. “The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator. In the first place amongst these there are the Muslims, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge mankind.”[iii]
[Let’s take a reality check here! Islam denies the Sonship and divinity of Jesus. The Quran is clear about this. However, the Bible is also clear on its’ position. Without recognizing Jesus as the Son of God and putting one’s trust in Him alone, there is no salvation. 1John 5:11-12 destroys the notion that you can reject Jesus and come to the Father. “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”]
Jump to the reign of Pope John Paul II. Honored for the great work he did as part of the coalition that brought down Communism and the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe, John Paul compromised when it came to biblical truth. He firmly believed that Muslims and Christians worship the same god. They do not! And he taught the gospel of works, which the Scripture definitively rejects. “All who live a just life will be saved, even if they do not believe in Jesus Christ and the Roman Catholic Church.” All you need is a “sincere heart.”[iv] [I would argue, Muslim suicide bombers have a ‘sincere heart.’] In 1986, John Paul took it a step farther when he hosted a conclave at Assisi that included witch doctors, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and pagans of various sorts; all gathered to pray for peace. This was an empty and even blasphemous attempt to unite religious sentiment and it served to falsely legitimize rank paganism. But Psalm 95:6 tells us: “For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.” (KJV) Sacred Scripture holds believers to a higher standard. “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?” (2Corinthians 6:14-15) The Roman Church was openly flaunting Scripture.
This is all part of a drive to create a universal church, something the Bible tells us WILL be established during the Tribulation, under the aegis of the False Prophet. Part of that drive is the Vatican’s long-held desire to control Jerusalem and the Holy Land. In Catholic thinking: The Church (Catholic of course) has replaced Israel and inherited the promises of God. It is this biblical misinterpretation that drives Rome to recognize Palestine– and maneuver for the establishment of Jerusalem as an international city and de-facto capital of a Palestinian State. The issues may all seem to get mixed together. But they inevitably lead toward a New World Order that seems to mirror the World Order laid out in the Book of Revelation.
Another facet of the Holy See’s vision for a New Global Order under Pope Francis involved the calls for actions that would address climate control and promote sustainability; two code words used by Leftists everywhere to bash capitalism and promote socialist policies. In an encyclical entitled, ‘Laudato Si: Care For Our Common Home,’ Pope Francis argued for “stronger and more efficiently organized international institutions, with functionaries who are appointed fairly by agreement among national governments, and empowered to impose sanctions.” But this new international apparatus is not to be limited to climate issues alone. To this end he quotes his predecessor, Pope Benedict as to the purposes of this emerging arrangement. “To manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result; to bring about integral and timely disarmament, food security and peace; to guarantee the protection of the environment and to regulate migration: for all this, there is urgent need of a true world political authority.” As Rebecca Terrell points out in The New American: “This plan disturbingly parallels the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals enumerated in its Agenda 21 program, formulated at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.” This plan has been described as a blueprint ‘for the global control and restriction over your daily life, including your private property, individual rights, and civil liberties — all in the apparent name of the environment and so-called social justice.’”[v]
The Difficult Bottom Line
Despite what may have been his good intentions, due to his frequent variances from not just official Catholic dogma – but more importantly biblical doctrine: The Pope has proven himself a false prophet. By proclaiming that all religions lead to the same God, he has made, in the words of David Reagan, a “mockery of the sacrifice of Jesus.” Jesus made it simple when he told this truth: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
[i] Archbishop Vigano, Bergoglio will answer to God for usurping the throne of Peter, Lifesite News, April 21, 2025
[ii] (In addition to David Reagan’s piece….), Pope Francis assures atheists, The Independent (UK), September 11, 2013
[iii] David Reagan, ‘Doctrines of Demons, Harbingers Daily, April 21, 2025
[iv] David Reagan, ‘Doctrines of Demons, Harbingers Daily, April 21, 2025
[v] Rebecca Terrell, Pope’s Environmental Encyclical Calls for World Government, The New American, June 19, 2015
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