FUTURE WORLD

The Legend of St. Malachy
In the year 1139 an Irish Bishop by the name of Malachy went to Rome to give an account of the affairs of his diocese to Pope Innocent II.(1)

While in Rome in 1139, he supposedly received a strange vision of the future wherein was revealed a long list of pontiffs who were to rule the Roman Catholic Church until the end of time.(2)

"According to his biographer, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, in his book Life of Saint Malachy, the saint was known to have the gift of prophesy and had even predicted the exact day and hour of his own death. Saint Malachy was cannonized in 1190 by Pope Clement III."(3)

This list included 112 names of future popes beginning with Pope Celestine II whose papacy began in 1143 A.D.(4)

The list was given to Pope Innocent II who was said to have deposited it in the Vatican Archives where it lay forgotten and undiscovered until 1590 when it was published.(5)

Malachy wrote a few words in Latin to describe each of the future popes.

For the 110th pope on Malachy's list of 112, he wrote the following Latin phrase: "De Labore Solis" which translated means "Of the Solar Eclipse" or, "From the Toil of the Sun".(6) The corresponding pope was Pope John Paul II (1978-2005).

"In an eerie coincidence, Pope John Paul II was the only pope known to be born on the day of a solar eclipse. There was a near total eclipse of the sun seen across Europe on May 18th, 1920; the very day that John Paul II was born in Europe. Like the sun, he came out of the East (Poland). Like the sun," he was known for traveling "all around the globe much more than any previous pope."(7)

Astronomers said that on Friday, April 23 the day of the Pope John Paul II's funeral, there would be a partial solar eclipse.(8)

According to Saint Malachy's prophetic list only two popes remain.

"It is the hope of Romanist leaders that the next pope will not reign as long, perhaps being an older pope. According to Malachy, the 267th pope is called 'Gloria Olivae,' or 'glory of the olive'. Traditionally, the olive branch has been associated with peace, but in both the Old and New Testaments, it also serves as an emblem for the Jews. Putting the two together, some commentators believe that the reign of this pope will be dedicated to peace."(9)

Interestingly, writing before the news that Cardial Ratzinger had been selected as the next pope Dr. H. T. Spence details the connection between Malachy's prophecy for this pope and why many predicted this pope would call himself 'Benedict XVI'. Dr. H. T. Spence is the president of Foundations Bible College and wrote The Death of a Pope in March/April 2005."(10)

"However, some believe that Malachy's description may instead refer to St. Benedict's sixth-century prophecy that a member of his order will lead the Church in its fight against evil just before the Apocalypse. The Benedictine Order is known by another name, Olivetans. Those mystic observers in Rome believe if this is true, the next pope will go by the name of Pope Benedict XVI, in imitation of Saint Benedict and Pope Benedict XV. Benedict XV was a pope obsessed with peace: he sought peace and spoke of peace and wrote documents seeking peace."(11)

According to Malachy the last (268th) pope will be known as "Petrus Romanus" (Peter the Roman). The prophecy states "In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Petrus Romanus (Peter the Roman), who will feed his flock amid many tribulations; after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people."(12)(Rome will be destroyed).

Malachy places this pope as the last one and the end of the church. According to Roman speculations within the Vatican, either the 267th or 268th pope has been viewed as the defecting pope: defecting from the church and its doctrines, an antichrist pope. These are merely the speculations by Malachy and those in the Romanist church who follow his predictions.(13)

Dr. Spence concludes:

Sentiment is ever growing for Rome and its Pope. But as it has been believed since the Protestant Reformation (and even before), the system of Rome is the Mystery Babylon of Revelation 17; she also is the whore who will ride the back of the beast. It is estimated that over the centuries she has put to death some sixty-eight million individuals, drinking abundantly and made drunk with the blood of the saints:

And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. (Revelation 17:6)

May God help us in these days to see the papal system truly as an antichrist system. Whether we view the prefix "anti" in the Greek interpreted as "in the stead of" (or substitute), or "against," the pope concept falls under both categories. He places himself as the substitute of Christ, and he is against the true Christ.(14)

Why does Dr. Spence believe that the papal system represents the antichrist system?

For starters it is not biblical but represents the rise of Romanism in history.

Dr. Spence writes as an example:

Another influence for changes taking place was the overthrow of the Roman Empire by the Goths, the Vandals, and the Huns. Their paganism and philosophy were assimilated into public Christianity and became part of the warp and woof of Rome's gospel. This is why one can find similar aspects (i.e. celibate priests, holy buildings, holy days, consecrated water, images, candles, incense, high ritualism) in Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and other religions. It was this Christianizing of paganism that gave rise to the worship of Mary. Such worship of "Madonna and child" goes back deep into paganism with the worship of Isis and her child Horus, often pictured sitting on her lap. Like Mary, Isis was called "the Great Virgin," and "the mother of God."(15)

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END NOTES
(1)Dr. H. T. Spence, The Death of a Pope, as quoted in Eerie Prophecies Predicted Benedict XVI, Newsmax.com, April 16, 2005 (http://newsmax.com/archives/
ic/2005/4/19/143103.shtml)
(2)Ibid.
(3)Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com staff, Saint's Prophecy: Only Two Popes Remain, April 3, 2005 (http://newsmax.com/archives/
ic/2005/4/3/180901.shtml)
(4)Ibid.
(5)Ibid.
(6)Ibid.
(7)Carl Limbacher and Newsmax.com staff, Prophecy on Pope Fulfilled by Eclipses?", April 6, 2005 (http://newsmax.com/archives/
ic/2005/4/6/162641.shtml)
(8)Ibid.
(9)Dr. H. T. Spence, The Death of a Pope, March/April 2005, Straightway, The Malachy Prophecies.
(http://www.foundations.edu/online_material/
straightway/2005/vol33_no3.htm)
(10)Ibid.
(11)Ibid.
(12)Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com staff, Saint's Prophecy: Only Two Popes Remain, April 3, 2005 (http://newsmax.com/archives/
ic/2005/4/3/180901.shtml)
(13)Dr. H. T. Spence, The Death of a Pope, March/April 2005, Straightway, The Malachy Prophecies.
(http://www.foundations.edu/online_material/
straightway/2005/vol33_no3.htm)
(14)Ibid.
(15)Ibid. Subsection: The Rise of Romanism in History.