Relevant
Hey this is just an article I stumbled upon and its relevant to one of my last posts so i thought it'd be cool to include it in my LJ. Enjoy.>>>>>>
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I hesitate to even bring up a subject that I have already grown so weary of hearing about in just a few days. And yet, there are many more days of around the clock coverage to come. What am I talking about? The death of Pope John Paul II. You can't turn on the television to any news station or open any newspaper without non-stop information about Pope John Paul II - his life, his accomplishments, his death, the transfer of his body, his funeral plans, etc., etc. Every detail of his final hours was reported with meticulous, minute-by-minute updates. The media is bombarding the airwaves with attention to this story unlike anything I have seen in my life. Huge headlines in every paper across the nation announced his death. It will continue to be front page news for many more days.
As I see what's happening, it makes me wonder why? Why the unprecedented coverage for this event? Obviously, Pope John Paul II was an influential, charismatic leader who undoubtedly accomplished many good things for the world. He was the human leader of the world's hundreds of millions of Catholics. But is there more to it than that?
It seems to me that the veneration of the Pope by many people, aided by the 24/7 media blitz is nothing short of deification. Clearly, we should all appreciate anyone that stands for justice and mercy and uses his or her influence to make our world a better place. It is both good and right to honor such a life. But what I have witnessed goes way over the top.
As the Pope lay dying, I heard a new commentator ask a Catholic representative how people should pray for the pope. The man responded, "Maybe it's time we stopped praying for the pope and started praying to him." The Pope is always referred to as "the Holy Father." Many people are acting like the whole world has stopped since he died. Like we have no one left to provide any leadership. After his death, the most common question for people who knew the Pope or met him was something like, "What was it like just to be in his presence." The question itself suggests that just being near him was a life-changing experience. While the answers vary in details, the reply usually mentions an unbelievable feeling the person had just being near him. People were overwhelmed just to be in his presence. In the end times the Bible says that a man will come on the world scene who will rise quickly to world dominance on a platform of peace, security, and safety. That person of course is the Antichrist. The whole world will follow after him. And what we see happening this past week is a mild foreshadow of what's coming. It's paving the way for this kind of response.
Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Catholic dogma teaches that the Pope is a god. For Roman Catholics the Pope is the Vicar or representative of Christ on earth. I'm also not saying that this Pope, or any Pope, is the Antichrist. What I am doing is drawing a parallel or comparison. If the Pope, who stood for world peace and justice for all, can be treated by many in the world like a god when he dies, what will they do for a man who actually brings world peace, performs astounding miracles, and dies and comes back to life? (Dan 9:27; 1 Thess. 5:1-2; Rev. 6:1-2; Rev. 13:3, 11-14). Add in the non-stop worldwide media coverage we have today saturating the airwaves, and it's pretty easy to see how the world will worship a man as god just as the Bible predicts.
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Mark Hitchcock is contributing editor of the Left Behind Prophecy Club newsletter. He is pastor of Faith Bible Church in Edmonds, Oklahoma and a nationally recognized prophecy author and speaker.
________________________________________________________________________________________
I hesitate to even bring up a subject that I have already grown so weary of hearing about in just a few days. And yet, there are many more days of around the clock coverage to come. What am I talking about? The death of Pope John Paul II. You can't turn on the television to any news station or open any newspaper without non-stop information about Pope John Paul II - his life, his accomplishments, his death, the transfer of his body, his funeral plans, etc., etc. Every detail of his final hours was reported with meticulous, minute-by-minute updates. The media is bombarding the airwaves with attention to this story unlike anything I have seen in my life. Huge headlines in every paper across the nation announced his death. It will continue to be front page news for many more days.
As I see what's happening, it makes me wonder why? Why the unprecedented coverage for this event? Obviously, Pope John Paul II was an influential, charismatic leader who undoubtedly accomplished many good things for the world. He was the human leader of the world's hundreds of millions of Catholics. But is there more to it than that?
It seems to me that the veneration of the Pope by many people, aided by the 24/7 media blitz is nothing short of deification. Clearly, we should all appreciate anyone that stands for justice and mercy and uses his or her influence to make our world a better place. It is both good and right to honor such a life. But what I have witnessed goes way over the top.
As the Pope lay dying, I heard a new commentator ask a Catholic representative how people should pray for the pope. The man responded, "Maybe it's time we stopped praying for the pope and started praying to him." The Pope is always referred to as "the Holy Father." Many people are acting like the whole world has stopped since he died. Like we have no one left to provide any leadership. After his death, the most common question for people who knew the Pope or met him was something like, "What was it like just to be in his presence." The question itself suggests that just being near him was a life-changing experience. While the answers vary in details, the reply usually mentions an unbelievable feeling the person had just being near him. People were overwhelmed just to be in his presence. In the end times the Bible says that a man will come on the world scene who will rise quickly to world dominance on a platform of peace, security, and safety. That person of course is the Antichrist. The whole world will follow after him. And what we see happening this past week is a mild foreshadow of what's coming. It's paving the way for this kind of response.
Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Catholic dogma teaches that the Pope is a god. For Roman Catholics the Pope is the Vicar or representative of Christ on earth. I'm also not saying that this Pope, or any Pope, is the Antichrist. What I am doing is drawing a parallel or comparison. If the Pope, who stood for world peace and justice for all, can be treated by many in the world like a god when he dies, what will they do for a man who actually brings world peace, performs astounding miracles, and dies and comes back to life? (Dan 9:27; 1 Thess. 5:1-2; Rev. 6:1-2; Rev. 13:3, 11-14). Add in the non-stop worldwide media coverage we have today saturating the airwaves, and it's pretty easy to see how the world will worship a man as god just as the Bible predicts.
>>>>>>
Mark Hitchcock is contributing editor of the Left Behind Prophecy Club newsletter. He is pastor of Faith Bible Church in Edmonds, Oklahoma and a nationally recognized prophecy author and speaker.