Will the great apostasy start now that Pope Francis is here?
There are some that will make the case that this pope will be the last Roman Catholic pontiff – leading to what has been prophesied as the “great apostasy” and even the destruction of Rome.
For more than 800 years, scholars have pointed to the dark augury regarding “the last pope.” The prophecy, taken from St. Malachy’s “Prophecy of the Popes,” is among a list of verses predicting each of the Roman Catholic popes from Pope Celestine II to the final pope, “Peter the Roman,” whose reign would end in the destruction of Rome.
First published in 1595, the prophecies were attributed to St. Malachy by a Benedictine historian named Arnold de Wyon, who recorded them in his book “Lignum Vitæ.” Tradition holds that Malachy had been called to Rome by Pope Innocent II. While there, he experienced the vision of the future popes, including the last one, which he wrote down in a series of cryptic phrases.
According to the prophecy, the next pope is to be the final pontiff, Petrus Romanus or Peter the Roman. Some Catholics believe that the next pope on St. Malachy’s list heralds the beginning of “great apostasy” followed by “great tribulation,” setting the stage for the imminent unfolding of apocalyptic events, something many non-Catholics would agree with.
This would give rise to a false prophet, who according to the book of Revelation leads the world’s religious communities into embracing a political leader known as Antichrist. In recent history, several Catholic priests – some deceased now – have been surprisingly outspoken about what they have seen as this inevitable danger rising from within the ranks of Catholicism as a result of secret satanic “Illuminati-Masonic” influences.
These priests claim secret knowledge of a multinational power elite and occult hierarchy operating behind supranatural and global political machinations. Within this secret society are sinister false Catholic infiltrators who understand that as the Roman Catholic Church represents one-sixth of the world’s population and over half of all Christians, it is indispensable for controlling future global elements in matters of church and state. The dark forces seek to fulfill a diabolical plan they call “Alta Vendetta,” which is set to assume control of the papacy and to help the False Prophet deceive the world’s faithful (including Catholics) into worshipping the Antichrist. Catholic and evangelical scholars have dreaded this moment for centuries.
Unfortunately, the time just ran out.