This headline is personally one of the most faith affirming headlines I have read this year.
While so much prophetic progress is taking place in Russia – which due to the birth of a new child I have not had the time to write about – the Papacy on the other hand is outworking exactly what Christ said it would be, those few moments before his own return.
What exactly is this apostate system up to now? Well lets cover some context briefly.
Yesterday, Pope Francis was awarded by – none other than Europe itself – the ‘prestigious Charlemagne award’. Charlemagne was the first Emperor of Holy Roman Empire, a Catholic, who united several nations together to form a religious empire.
Just like Charlemagne, Pope Francis is now playing a key role in European unification. While calling himself ‘a political animal’, the Pope is dutifully acting out the part of the prostitute riding the beast as described by Christ in Revelation 17.
But that is just the beginning: During his award speech to the European Parliament, Pope Francis spoke wistfully about his dream for a ‘new Europe’ which brings us back to chapter Daniel 2.
Remember Nebuchadnezzar’s image in Daniel 2? The feet were made of iron and clay, but it was the iron (the Roman Catholic influence) that kept the clay together. This was together manifested in ten toes – the ten European nations – whose only reason for unification, was Roman Catholicism, just like the state of affairs brought about by Charlemagne himself.
Infact, speaking of the kingdoms under Charlemagne, Bro. Thomas says;
At this crisis of affairs, there existed … the Ten Toe Kingdoms. I would remark here in passing that it has hitherto been found impossible to define these kingdoms according to the number given. Several tens have been guessed at, but the lists bear inaccuracy on the face of them. The kingdoms are represented by ten horns, and ten toes, because there would be that number appearing on the territory of the Roman Beast between A.D. 476 and A.D. 799, the interval between the fall and restoration of the Western Roman Empire…
At the time of the revelation of Jesus Christ and the Saints, there will also be ten kingdoms whose territories will embrace those of the original Gothic Ten.
Exposition of Daniel Pg 75
So while the Pope is fulfilling Revelation 17 by committing fornication with the “kings of Europe”, he is also on the cusp of fulfilling the unification of 10 nations as described by the ten toes in Daniel chapter 2 & the ten horns in Rev 17:
“The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.
Revelation 17
However this prophecy could well be fulfilled AFTER the return of Christ.
While we are witnessing these amazing prophecies come into fulfilment before our eyes, neither of those prophecies mentioned in Rev 17 or Daniel 2 directly portend the return of Christ.
But there is one prophecy which does portend the return of Christ:
The very last sign to occur before His return is the “Unclean Spirits like Frogs” which are explained here in more detail, but in short, represent unclean teachings being spoken from the mouth of the false prophet (the papacy), the beast (Europe), and the dragon (Russia).
One such unclean teaching, is the doctrine of humanism.
In his Charlemagne speech, (full script here FYI) the Pope talks extensively about his dream for “a new European humanism”:
“Europe is weary, aging, no longer fertile…
With mind and heart, with hope and without vain nostalgia, like a son who rediscovers in Mother Europe his roots of life and faith, I dream of a new European humanism, one that involves “a constant work of humanization” and calls for “memory, courage, [and] a sound and humane utopian vision”.
I dream of a Europe that is young, still capable of being a mother: a mother who has life because she respects life and offers hope for life.
Pope Francis
What you just read is a perfect example of the “Unclean Spirits like Frogs” being uttered by the Papacy; the last sign, before the return of Christ.
As I write, in 8 hours time, a millennium of history is about to be reversed.
For the first time since the Great Schism in 1054, the Pope is about to meet with the Russian Orthodox Patriarch. (Click here to see the latest)
‘So what?’ you say.
I’m glad you asked, because we are now witnessing the beginning of an incredible fulfilment of prophecy – something that everyone should know about.
To understand why it is so important, we need to go back to Nebuchadnezzar image in Daniel chapter 2.
The image of Daniel 2 (seen in the centre of the image above) represents the successive kingdoms of men that existed synonymously with the nation of Israel.
The legs of Iron represented the Roman Empire which eventually had an Eastern and Western component seen in the two legs. Daniel 2:42 describes the latter day component of the image, the feet, which also contain Iron and therefore the Roman element.
Revelation also draws on Daniel to give us more detail about this latter day entity – this is explained briefly here. Both prophecies require that the Roman Empire be re-formed in the latter days, around the time that Israel is re-established as a nation in their own land.
Bro. Thomas goes on to explain a little more about how his might begin to come to pass:
“The time is not far off, when the Latin Bishop (The Pope) may have to seek again to the Constantinopolitan Imperial Autocracy (Russia in Constantinople) for protection.”
While Russia is not yet in Constantinople (currently under the control of Turkey) it increasingly looks as though Russia and Turkey are about to have an armed conflict which could well see Russia taking the ancient city.
Today’s meeting will set the tone for further unification between East and West, between the two feet that will form the latter day representation of the Kingdom of Men.
Putin is on the verge of fulfilling the ancient Russian dream of reviving the ancient Roman/Byzantine empire in Constantinople and completing the image.
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Putin puts military on HIGH ALERT in South West (near Turkey)
European leaders meet in Rome to discuss their problems
Russia is ‘trying to draw Turkey into a fight’
Vladimir Putin puts Russian troops on high alert as part of massive military drills
Large-scale military drills across south-west Russia intended to test the troops’ readiness amid continuing tensions with the West
President Vladimir Putin has scrambled thousands of troops and hundreds of warplanes across southwestern Russia for large-scale military drills intended to test the troops’ readiness amid continuing tensions with the West.
Shoigu said the manoeuvres will also engage airborne troops and military transport aviation, as well as the navy. He noted that the drills are intended to check the troops’ ability to respond to extremist threats and other challenges.
According to Shoigu, who spoke at a meeting with the top military brass, the war games would include redeployment of air force units to advance air bases and bombing runs at shooting ranges. The manoeuvres will test the troops’ mobility, with some being deployed to areas up to 3,000 kilometres (1,860 miles) away, the military said.
KOSTROMA REGION, RUSSIA. JANUARY 23, 2016. Servicemen of the 98th Guards Airborne Division of the Russian Airborne Troops descending with parachutes during military exercises.
Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov said in a statement that up to 8,500 troops, 900 ground weapons, 200 warplanes and about 50 warships will be involved in the drills.
KOSTROMA REGION, RUSSIA. JANUARY 23, 2016. Servicemen of the 98th Guards Airborne Division of the Russian Airborne Troops descending with parachutes during military exercises.
The exercises are the latest in a series of major drills intended to strengthen the military’s readiness. They have continued despite the nation’s economic downturn.
Even though a drop in global oil prices has drained the government’s coffers and helped drive the economy into recessions, the Kremlin has continued to spend big on the military, funding the purchase of hundreds of new aircraft, tanks and missiles.
ROME – The European Union faces “critical times” and all its members should set aside selfish interests to tackle problems such as immigration and terrorism, the bloc’s six founding nations said on Tuesday.
A week after the EU accepted that some members may never go further in sharing sovereignty, as part of the price for keeping Britain in the club, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg pledged to pursue “ever closer union” at a meeting in Rome, where they founded the bloc in 1957.
“We are concerned about the state of the European project,” the foreign ministers of the Six said in a statement after their talks. “Indeed, it appears to be facing very challenging times. It is in these critical times that we, as founding members, feel particularly called upon.”
The meeting was held against the backdrop of deep division in the 28-nation bloc over how to handle the flows of hundreds of thousands of migrants arriving in Europe fleeing war and failing states in the Middle East and North Africa.
It also came a week after Brussels agreed a draft deal with Britain Prime Minister David Cameron that, among other things, reaffirmed the limitations of a treaty commitment to pursue the “ever closer union” of the peoples of Europe, part of a package to help Cameron campaign before a referendum that the EU’s second biggest economy should continue its 43-year membership.
While acknowledging that the Union “allows for different paths of integration”, the original signatories of the Treaty of Rome declared: “We remain resolved to continue the process of creating an ever closer union among the people of Europe.”
Meeting in Italy, which has been in the frontline of a wave of migration to Europe across the Mediterranean, the ministers also stressed the need to overcome divisions on the EU response.
Hungary and Austria this week called for fences on the Macedonian and Bulgarian borders with Greece and between Austria and Slovenia, and several states have called into question the Schengen accord on free circulation inside the EU.
The statement called for better management of the Union’s external borders in order to make them more secure while preserving Schengen and not hampering freedom of movement.
It contained no concrete policy proposals, but said Europe “is successful when we overcome narrow self-interest in the spirit of solidarity”.
The Russian Ministry of Defence warned Turkey against launching a military incursion into Syria last week, announcing on Thursday that it had seen “growing signs” that Turkish forces were preparing to intervene to bolster rebel forces battling pro-regime troops in the north.
Some experts say, however, that Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be trying to bait Turkey into entering the Syrian battlefield in order to retaliate for Ankara’s decision to down a Russian warplane in November.
“Russia is trying to draw Turkey into a fight to avenge the downing of its jet. Putin is confident he can win,” retired Brig. Gen. Naim Baburoglu, an adviser to the Ankara-based National Security and Foreign Policy Research Center, told al-Monitor last week.
“He also needs this to counter domestic difficulties. Downing one or two Turkish F-16s will make him a hero at home,” Baburoglu added. “It will also be a serious embarrassment to Turkey and the Turkish air force.”
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan initially denied reports that Turkish forces were preparing to cross the border. But on Sunday, Erdogan signalled that Turkey would be prepared to intervene in Syria if asked by its coalition partners.
“We don’t want to fall into the same mistake in Syria as in Iraq,” Erdogan told reporters on Sunday, according to the Turkish daily newspaper Hurriyet. “If … Turkey was present in Iraq, the country would have never have fallen into its current situation.”
He added: “It’s important to see the horizon. What’s going on in Syria can only go on for so long. At some point it has to change.”
Erdogan, a staunch opponent of the Russian-backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was at least partly referring to the Syrian Kurds’ sustained expansion westward along the Turkish-Syrian border. That push has largely been facilitated by Russian airstrikes targeting Syrian rebel groups backed by Turkey, the US, and Saudi Arabia.
Signs of growing coordination between Moscow and the Kurds came to a head last week when Syria’s main Kurdish militia, the YPG, helped Russia and the Syrian army isolate Azaz — a strategically important city long used by Turkey to funnel aid and supplies to rebels in the city of Aleppo.
“I don’t think there is any doubt that the YPG and Russia are coordinating in the Azaz corridor,” Aaron Stein, an expert on Turkish affairs and Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, told Business Insider on Monday.
He added: “The YPG have taken advantage of the airstrikes to advance in areas south of Azaz, in what looks like a strategy to connect the Efrin canton with Kobane and Jazira. The PYD have consistently made clear, both in private and in public, that they can reach a common understanding with local groups in the area, and install a governing council inside the city.”
As Turkish-Russian relations continue to deteriorate, Russia’s military and political ties to the Kurds are getting stronger. Russia is reportedly looking to open a second air field in the Kurdish-held Syrian city of Qamishli, and the Kurds have said they will open their first “representation office” in Moscow later this week.
“The PYD’s office in Moscow has been months in the making,” Stein said. “The PYD — and by extension, the PKK — are eager to escape from international isolation. Any country willing to de-facto recognise them as a legitimate political group, and not a foreign terrorist organisation, is a net positive for the group.”
Fabrice Balanche, a leading expert on Syria and visiting fellow at the Washington Institute, broached the limits of the US’ political support for the Kurds in an analysis last week.
“Unlike the United States, Russia does not want to antagonize the Kurds by prohibiting their deeply held goal of territorial unification,” he wrote.
“Vladimir Putin wants to put pressure on Turkey’s entire frontier with Syria,” Balanche added. Indeed, “it is one of the main regional goals of the Russian intervention.”
That the Kurds are now closer than ever to linking their territories east of the Euphrates with the Kurdish-controlled city of Efrin in the west — a move that would cross Turkey’s “red line” and allow the Kurds to consolidate their de-facto state of Rojava along Turkey’s southern border — may be enough to draw Turkey into the war.
“The Turkish army is very conservative and risk averse,” Jeff White, a defence analyst focusing on the security fairs of the Levant at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Business Insider in an email.
“So while willing to protect its borders, I doubt we will see any large scale operations in Syria — with one possible exception: unification of the Kurdish enclaves/Rojava.”
If the Kurds were to unify their cantons, Turkey might be compelled to intervene to prevent them from forming a statelet along the Turkish border, White noted. And that would be a game-changer.
“The Turkish army could defeat any opponents in its chosen areas of operation,” White said. “Direct Turkish intervention, if on a substantial scale, could dramatically change the situation.”
Incidentally, rumours of a Turkish military intervention began circulating days after Saudi Arabia declared that it would be prepared to send ground troops to Syria to fight the Islamic State “if asked” by its allies.
As such, “Turkey is no longer acting alone,” Middle East analyst Elijah Magnier noted on Twitter last week. Though it remains “highly unlikely” that Turkey will invade Syria, Magnier said that if it did, “Russia would celebrate.”
Wow. This is undoubtedly another prophecy that is coming to pass in our time.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, is to meet his Roman Catholic counterpart, Pope Francis, during a historic visit to Latin America. The ground breaking meeting is to happen in mid-February in Cuba.
The meeting between heads the two major Christian churches would be an unprecedented move to mend a millennium-long rift between the Western and Eastern branches of the religion, which started with the Great Schism of 1054.
Persecution of Christians in the modern world is the main issue for the two leaders to discuss, the Russian Orthodox Church said. Christians are among the minorities suffering at the hands of groups adhering to radical Islamist ideology in places like Iraq, Syria and Somalia.
“the time is not far off, when the Latin Bishop may have to seek again to the Constantinopolitan Imperial Autocracy for protection.”
~Exposition of Daniel, John Thomas
Brother Thomas was talking about the Catholic Pope seeking the protection of Russia in the face of a mutual challenge, and we already see evidence of this need arising. But is this meeting just an isolated incident, or does it speak of something greater at work?
Putin asks his governors to read three books
To understand the context behind this meeting, we need to wind the clock back and cast our gaze upon Putin.
Since 2012, Kremlin observers witnessed a change in Putin who discarded his pragmatist policy and replaced it with an ideological one. Over the course of the next few years and in the lead up to the annexation of Crimea, Putin’s speeches would be peppered with nationalistic references to the writings of Russian historians and philosophers.
Steven Lee Myers, the lead Moscow correspondent for the New York Times, also noted the change in his recent book “The New Tsar”;
…for the first time, he (Putin) began casting his leadership in a broader historical context. He meant to restore something much older, much richer and deeper: the idea of the Russian nation, the imperium of the “third Rome,” charting its own course, indifferent to the imposition of foreign values. It was an old Russian idea, and he found the model for it in the history books he was said to favour.
Not only was Putin’s new ideology evident through his national speeches, but early 2014, Putin distributed three special books to members of the Russia United Party and the regional governors of Russia. The books were to be ‘essential reading’, and they give us much insight into the new ideological direction of the Kremlin.
The first book was written by 19th century Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov and was entitled “Justification of Good”. Solovyov was unique amongst his contemporaries as he was one of the only Russian Philosophers to advocate the Hellenist idea of the unification of the Catholic church to the Russian Orthodox church – much to the disgust of the Orthodox clergy. Looking for common ground with Catholicism was anathema in the eyes of the Russian Orthodox Church and it still is today.
So why did Putin distribute Solovyov’s writings to the leaders of Russia when he knew it would irritate the Church? To find the answer to this question, we need to go to the second the book that Putin asked his colleagues to read; “Our Tasks” written by Ivan Ilyin.
Where Solevyov writes about the future role of the Church, Ilyin theorises about the future role of the state. Ilyin’s writings construct and fantasise about a new direction for Russia through the establishment of the imperium of “the Third Rome” – the re-establishment of the Roman/Byzantine Empire.
The idea of a Byzantine revival isnt new; Constantinople – the ancient capital of the Byzantine empire – is a city which features as a centrepiece in Russian fairy tales, poetry, architecture, and religion. Throughout Russian history, many have called for a return to such an empire, but there’s a problem for those Byzantine obsessed Russians; Constantinople isn’t in Russia, its in Turkey. How then can the Russian people revive the Byzantine empire if its ancient capital remains – under the control of Turkey? Perhaps this question may be answered for us if Russia chooses to invade Turkey in the next few months as the Russian-Turkish crisis unfolds.
However, put together, the writings of Solevyov and Ilyin advocate for a new Holy Russia – a Holy empire, which would be founded upon a unified Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Catholic) Christendom. By distributing these writings, Putin is reaching into the patriotic heart of the Russian and evoking strong feelings of nostalgia as they are reminded of their history, culture, religion and heritage which are from the remnants of the Byzantine empire.
But further than that, it seems that Putin is giving substance to those ideologies and ancient Russian dreams: On one hand, the powerful Byzantine empire is once again on the verge of becoming a possibility as Putin continues to agitate Turkey. On the other hand and probably much to Krills despair and Solevyov’s delight, the unification between Eastern and Western Christendom – a necessary basis for a Holy empire – is beginning to emerge as we have found out today.
But where did this all come from? Why is Putin suddenly giving substance to an old Russian dream?
There is a number of very good reasons and we consider one of them here:
The growing threat of an extremist Muslim Caliphate calls for the unification of Western and Eastern Christendom
It should not be forgotten that it was a Muslim caliphate (the Ottoman empire) that eventually took Constantinople, and ended the Byzantine empire. The Russians have never forgotten this.
Infact, it has been suggested in Russia, that the fall of the Byzantine empire was actually a result of the lack of coordination between the Byzantines (Orthodox) and West (Catholics) in dealing with the threat of the Muslim Caliphate. Fast forward five centuries to 2016, and a new Muslim Caliphate – the Islamic State (ISIS) – is now gaining momentum in the Middle East. Russian commentators use the Byzantine narrative to suggest that Russia is under threat of making the same uncoordinated mistake unless it gets its act together and seeks to unify Western Christendom (the Roman Catholics) with the Eastern (Russian Orthodox).
Today, both the Roman Catholics and Russian Orthodox feel threatened by ISIS. The Vatican especially so, because it doesn’t have an army to defend itself or deploy to places like Syria where Christians are increasingly victimised. This is why in 2014, the Vatican called upon the United Nations to use military force against ISIS. In 2015 we saw Russia respond to that call, sending in its military and proving itself to be a formidable force in Syria.
Putin’s ideological vision for a revived Rome is becoming a reality. Today, the news that the Pope is about to meet his Russian counterpart for the first time to discuss unity in the face of an emerging caliphate reminds us that this revival is fast becoming a reality.
The Roman Iron in Daniels image of chapter 2, and in the Fourth beast of Daniel chapter 7 is emerging, and we are living to witness the fulfilment of prophecy.
Bible Prophecy & Current Events 