The Beasts And Horns

The details of the visions of the little horn of Daniel 7 and the first beast of Revelation 13 reveal the antichrist of Bible prophecy.

Daniel's Vision

John's Vision

"Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night and behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea."

"And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another."

"The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it."

"And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh."

"After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it."

"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns."

"I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things." Daniel 7:2-8

"I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them" Daniel 7:21

"And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings."

"And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." Daniel 7:24-25

"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." Revelation 13:1-2

"And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast."

"And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?"

"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months."

"And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven."

"And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."

"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Revelation 13:3-8

"And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."

"Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." Revelation 13:17-18

Now lets take a closer look at the similarities:

1. The beasts arise 'out of the sea', 'up from the sea'	Rev. 13:1, Daniel 7:3
2. 'like unto a leopard', 'another, like a leopard'	Rev. 13:2, Daniel 7:6
3. 'feet of a bear', 'like to a bear'	Rev. 13:2, Daniel 7:5
4. 'mouth of a lion', 'was like a lion'	Rev. 13:2, Daniel 7:4
5. 'the dragon', 'a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible'	Rev. 13:2, Daniel 7:7
6. 'seven heads', (the four beasts have a total of 7 heads)	Rev. 13:1, Daniel 7:4-7
7. 'ten horns', 'it had ten horns'	Rev. 13:1, Daniel 7:7

Notice also that the beast and the little horn rule for the same period of time:

8. 'forty and two months', 'time, times, and dividing of time'

Rev. 13:5, Daniel 7:25

The beast and the little horn have a notable leader:

9. 'number of a man', 'eyes of a man'

Rev. 13:18, Daniel 7:8

The beast of Revelation 13 and the little horn do the same things:

10. 'blasphemy against God', 'speak great words'	Rev. 13:5-6, Daniel 7:8, 20, 25
11.'make war with the saints', 'made war with the saints'	Rev. 13:2, Daniel 7:21

Here are some additional points:
Notable power and position comes from the 'dragon':

12. 'gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority', "fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly... and it had ten horns.'

Rev. 13:2, Daniel 7:7

The beast receives a deadly wound:

13. 'wounded to death'

Rev. 13:3

This wound is healed and the beast regains worldwide influence and power:

14. 'and his deadly wound was healed'

Rev. 13:3

The beast is a religious power that receives worship:

15. 'all the world wondered...and they worshipped the beast', "shall be diverse"

Rev. 13:3-4, Daniel 7:24

Through the books of Revelation and Daniel God gives us a thorough description of the antichrist of Bible prophecy. It is important to identify the antichrist because from it will come the sign, or "mark", of it's authority. Against this mark, "the mark of the beast", or the mark of the authority of the antichrist, comes one of the Bible's strongest prohibitions.

"And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:" Revelation 14:9-10

16. 'And he causeth all, to receive a mark', 'think to change times and laws:'

Rev. 13:15-17, Daniel 7:25
(see also Romans 6:16)

By bibleprophecytruth.com

The Beast System

A woman riding a beast is displayed outside of the European Parliament in Brussels (Revelation 17:3).

Every great dictatorship in history was preceded by anarchy, mob rule, social breakdown and political confusion. This is happening today. You won't recognize America by 2015! Over 40,000,000 Americans are now on government welfare in 2010! This is what Communism has done to our nation! Our jobs are gone. Our homes are gone! Our pensions are gone!

The 3rd world empire Greece, had a pure Democracy prior to their social breakdown and mob rule. However, they had taken Democracy to ridiculous levels, abusing their freedoms, just as Americans have for decades. When Democracy is taken to its fullest, and becomes abused, it opens the doors to anarchy. Every man becomes his own God, his own leader, living by his own rules; and mob rule sets in. America has gone to far with its homosexual marriages, abortion, feminism, SIN CITY Las Vegas, and demonic influences prevalent in movies and music. God is angry with America (Psalm 7:11). Politically, morally, and economically we are headed for self-destruction. Only a dictator can unite America; but make no mistake, he will be a wicked man, an evil person, Satan incarnate, the Antichrist. Out of the ashes of the fallen American republic will arise a Godless Global Totalitarian Communist Police State!

Political parties are not going to unite the nation nor the world. It is sad that so many think that the Republicans, or some other political party, are going to save the nation. No, no, that's not the answer! There's not a dime's difference between Democrats and Republicans!

Politicians don't speak from conviction anymore. They have speech writers. And sadly, their speech writers flip flop from being conservative to becoming a liberal on a dime; writing for a Republican U.S. President one day, and writing for a liberal Democrat the next. It is sad that U.S. Presidents don't write their own speeches. It's not from their heart. There is no conviction. The speeches are written to fool the American people. It is all so crooked and dishonest. This is what Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome were like before a dictator rose to power.

Persia had youth groups demonstrating publicly, just like youth today, fighting against the present establishment. There was political confusion and worship of youth. We see this a lot today. The world worships youth. This is the age of youth.

The Democracy in Greece became a farce. History records in the writings of Aristotle and others that prior to Alexander the Great's rise, there was anarchy and mob rule. Aristotle said, “Children have become rulers of parents.” The John Lennon's had the answers, but no responsibilities. There were evolution clubs in Greece. Plutarch said, “men wore bizarre costumes and women found joy in men's clothing.” Is this not America today? There was social breakdown, paving the way for a young dictator named Alexander the Great to become dictator. Only a dynamic man, a dictatorship, could have saved Greece from herself. Alexander the Great was that man, and he was only 20-years old when he rose to power.

The Bible in Daniel speaks of Nebuchadnezzar's image of gold (Babylon), silver (Medo-Persia), brass (Greece), legs of iron, (Rome) and toes of iron mixed with clay (revived Roman empire under the leadership of the Antichrist). The Great Tribulation will be the ultimate in anarchy, mob rule, confusion, anti-God, Anti-Christ and Anti-Bible. On the shoulders on anarchy will arise the Antichrist. Out of chaos will arise a new world order.

There never has been a world empire rise without a world dictator. There never has been a world dictator rise unless he rose on the shoulders of anarchy. This ole world of ours will never get together on ideologies. This world is too far gone; left, right; Communistic, Socialistic and we have trained a world of anarchists (every man doing that which is right in his own eyes); and we will never merge on ideologies.

We have become too enlightened. People (especially young people) have become so enraptured with his own self-worship, self-adoration, and self-esteem; that he is not willing to become subservient to one another. The only hope the nations of the world have is to rally around a personality. This is why we see popular movie stars becoming politicians. American society worships celebrities. Nothing will unite the world today except a personality that appeals to all ages, groups and political platforms. The Antichrist will be dynamic, appealing, and a personality that the world wants to rally around.

Today, we are living in inferior times. We're not living in the times of superiority of Babylon (the gold head), nor the times of silver and brass. We're living in a historical stage of deterioration, not superiority. Look at our sculptures today, comparing our art to Greece, and you'll see that we are an inferior generation. The world has never yet risen to the level of the amazing art they had in Greece and Rome.

In 3 world empires that fell to ruin and chaos, a dictator was the only answer to society's demise. Nebuchadnezzar saved Babylon from anarchy and mob rule. Cyrus saved Medo-Persia from anarchy and mob rule. Alexander the Great saved Greece from anarchy and mob rule. These men were strong enough to pull together their cultures from mob rule.

Then there was the Roman empire, represented by the legs of iron in Nebuchadnezzar's image seen in his dream. The Roman empire was engulfed in political confusion, youth rebellion, political corruption, revolution from young people, men dressing like ladies, courts slow to try, nudity, anarchy, mob rule and rebellion. When there arose a man of the stature of Julius Caesar, who had a fanatical following from his soldiers, Rome was pulled together and saved. In times of chaos and societal collapse, only a dictator can save the known world. These dictators came because they had to come.

No Democracy has ever conquered the world. No Communist regime has ever conquered the world. Committees don't conquer, men conquer. Men lead crowds and mobs. Out of anarchy there arose Nebuchadnezzar. Out of anarchy there arose Cyrus. Out of anarchy there arose Alexander the Great. Out of anarchy there arose Julius Caesar. And out of anarchy will arise the Antichrist.

Today, we live in the same type of age that existed before Nebuchadnezzar, before Cyrus, before Alexander the Great, before the Caesars, and nothing will save this generation except a dictator. He will lead 10-nations. He will be the wicked Devil incarnate. He will be evil to the core. But he will be a world leader and out of chaos will arise a BEAST system of the coming Antichrist. The world is begging for a world leader, a strong personality; and the Antichrist will be that man! It's going to take a world dictator to unite the world.

The coming of the Antichrist is near. American society is on the verge of imminent collapse. Our dollar is ready to collapse. Tens-of-millions of our jobs have been relocated overseas. Tens-of-millions of Americans have had their homes confiscated by a corrupt, thieving and rotten banking system. U.S. borders have been left wide open for illegals to flood into our nation. Hollywood's smut, filth, God-cursing and violence is deliberate, to corrupt our nation. All of this is deliberately intended, by design, to ruin and bring America to her knees. The demonic music industry is evil, having produced generations of feminists, rebels, abortionists, fornicators, adulterers, and God-hating Communists.

The age of the U.S. Presidency will be lowered. Out of chaos will arise a young man, likely a very young man, who will become like an Alexander the Great of our day. He will conquer the known world. It is not surprising that the truce between Israel and the Arabs originated on western soil, because the Antichrist will be the defender and peacemaker for Israel during the End Times. The confederacy of 10-western nations in the Bible, under the control of the Antichrist, will defend Israel.

The Council On Foreign Relations is the visible organization of the elite. These people (which include the International Bankers) are deliberately creating chaos around the world, bankrupting nations, ruining America's economy, morally polluting societies; because out of anarchy and social chaos will arise a global state, lead by the coming Antichrist. Nothing ever delivers a society from anarchy and moral decay except dictatorship or destruction from God.

Russia, China, Turkey, Egypt and the Arabs will fight against him. The great Endtime battle will be fought on the mountains of Israel. The western powers of the United States and England, for the sake of oil, will rise and fight against Russia, under the leadership of the Antichrist.

Russia and her allied forces will be annihilated by the Antichrist. The Russians will be decimated. People will be hired full-time to do nothing but bury bodies. According to the Bible, it will take 7-months to bury the dead. SEVEN MONTHS! Markers will be placed upon the dead to come back later to bury them, because there will be so many dead.

The stone cut out of the mountain without hands (in Nebuchadnezzar's image) is Jesus Christ, who will break the kingdom of the Beast into pieces. Jesus will return at the Battle of Armageddon, and stand upon Mount Megiddo, and put down the Antichrist and his armies. Jesus will march through the eastern gate of Jerusalem, through which neither He nor man has gone since palm Sunday before the Lord was crucified. He'll ride through those golden gates, and up the hill to Zion, this time on the back of a white horse instead of a donkey, and He will rule the entire world from Jerusalem.

But first a man must conquer the known world. He will be from the western world, perhaps from the U.S., or Italy, or England, or France. This man must rise to power out of chaos. The world is ready today for the Antichrist; because the world is in the same place when she had to have a Nebuchadnezzar, she had to have a Cyrus she had to have an Alexander, she had to have a Caesar; and now she has to have an Antichrist.

The earth is too ripe in wickedness. The angel is ready to pull out his sickle and thrust it into the earth, and the earth shall reap the harvest of her wickedness. The world today is as rotten as can be. The only hope for any kind of unity at all is not in a party; but in a man, and that man is soon to come. He will be a man of ideologies, a peacemaker, the man of sin, the Antichrist.

By David J. Stewart

Meteors - Signs In The Heavens

Another meteor-fireball, this one in South Florida

In the wake of four unexpected and spectacular astronomical events this week, comes another. By the way, the Weather Underground blog says that "The odds of the largest meteor strike in 100 years occurring on the same day as the closest asteroid approach in 15 years are about 1 in 200 million".

Earlier this week, an asteroid flew by earth at a mere distance of 17,000 miles, very close. It was the closest fly-by in recorded history of a non-satellite nature. In addition, on the same day no less, three major meteor sightings occurred. The one that happened in the Russian Urals was especially interesting, being the largest meteor to crash to earth in 100 years, injuring 1,200 people and causing absolute panic. The two other meteor sightings occurred in San Francisco and Cuba.

It should be noted that there is no ongoing meteor shower the earth is passing through. These space rocks just appear and suddenly they are crashing down on our heads.

One thing to notice especially of the Russian Meteor is the suddenness of its appearance. With all the satellites, NASA money to roam Mars, and telescopes looking at and radios listening to space, the Russian meteor snuck by them all and boomed into land before we could say Boy Howdy. Now if that doesn't bode ill for the Tribulation, then what does? It made me think of Revelation 8:10-11,

"The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter."

Or Revelation 8:8,

"The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood."

These events will occur in the time of the Tribulation, the 7-year period where Jesus punishes the world for its sins via His wrath in a series of judgments from 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, and 7 Bowls. It has not begun yet but one can certainly see the suddenness of a burning mountain thrown into the sea could easily be a undetected meteor appearing out of nowhere.

Another meteor shower has occurred, this time in South Florida. They are calling this one a 'sporadic' meteor, because it is not attached to any known meteor shower happening anywhere earth. In other words, it appeared out of nowhere, all on its own. This just in:

Possible meteor shower sighting in South Florida
"Some South Floridians reported seeing bright, flare-like objects disappear into the sky Sunday night, in what resembled a meteor shower. The Coast Guard's command center starting receiving reports of a possible meteor shower at about 7:30 p.m., said Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Sabrina Laberdesque. Laberdesque said the Coast Guard could neither confirm nor deny whether it was, in fact, a meteor shower. The Coast Guard sent out a helicopter to check on a report of a flare but found nothing. Laberdesque said there were no injuries and no boats in distress after the reported sightings. The Broward Sheriff's Office also reported receiving several calls from locals claiming there were "lights in the sky." On Friday, a meteor exploded about 15 miles overhead near the Russian town of Chelyabinsk. More than 1,100 people were reportedly injured."

NBC Miami reported,
"South Floridians who happened to be looking in the right place at the right time Sunday night saw one spectacular light show – possibly a sporadic meteor. People called in, describing the flares “as orange or red fireballs in the sky,” Laberdesque said. The display was limited to the sky: No injuries were reported, Laberdesque said. A sporadic meteor is basically a rocky object that comes from the asteroid belt, said Mike Hankey, operations manager for the American Meteor Society, based in Genesee, N.Y. The group logged 27 reports within about the first two hours of the event, he said. "This is a lot of reports to come in quickly," Hankey said. Gauging by the reports, it happened somewhere over the ocean. "These fireballs are common," Hankey said. "It’s rare for any one person to see one more than once or twice in their lifetime."

They reported seeing it from Jacksonville to Key West, pretty much the length of all of Florida. I looked at the video, it IS pretty spectacular!

The most interesting part, to me, is where the newscaster says that because of our newly heightened awareness of meteors, that fewer people were scared, and more people correctly identified what it was. The citizen observer being interviewed confirmed this.

Are they becoming so jaded, so quickly, that seeing a spectacular sight that only occurs once or twice in a lifetime is now an "Oh, well, ho-hum, another fireball streaking across the sky"? I hope not.

The power of a creator God to alert His people to His presence should never get old, and hopefully would have the intent it should have: inquisitiveness toward the Gospel.

Pastor JD Farag reported that this indeed is happening. He is a pastor in Hawaii who gives a weekly prophecy update on Sunday evenings. He said that more non-Christians than Christians are seeking to know why it really does seem like it is nearing the end of the world. They sense that the things we have been saying are true and want to know more. This is a praise to the Lord, who seeks His sheep with all diligence. (Matthew 18:12).

As the gap between saved and unsaved grows ever wider, the fence-sitters will soon lose their standing and have to choose a side to settle on.

The unsaved are looking up and seeing meteors. We Christians are looking up to watch for the coming of our Lord and Savior. May He come soon to collect His sheep! You can join us, by being saved today:

By: the-end-time.blogspot.com

The Search Is On For Meteorite

By GAUTAM NAIK and ALAN CULLISON

Photo: Getty Images

The meteorite that hit Russia last week may have been 55 feet long but the largest fragment scientists have found is only about a quarter of an inch. WSJ's Gautam Naik explains why, and looks at the meteorite's likely path through space.

The meteor that crashed to earth in Russia was about 55 feet in diameter, weighed around 10,000 tons and was made from a stony material, scientists said, making it the largest such object to hit the Earth in more than a century.
Large pieces of it have yet to be found. However, a team from Ural Federal University, which is based in Yekaterinburg, collected 53 fragments, the largest of which was 7 millimeters, according to Viktor Grokhovsky, a scientist at the university.
Data from a global network of sensors indicated that the meteor's fiery disintegration as it neared earth near Chelyabinsk, Russia, unleashed nearly 500 kilotons of energy, more than 30 times the energy of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.

A researcher from Ural Federal University in Yekaterinburg, Russia, examines pieces of meteorite in a laboratory on Monday.

It is the largest reported meteor since the one that hit Tunguska, Siberia, in 1908, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The U.S. agency's new estimate of the meteor's size was a marked increase from its initial one.
"We would expect an event of this magnitude to occur once every 100 years," said Paul Chodas of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office. "When you have a fireball of this size we would expect a large number of meteorites to reach the surface and in this case there were probably some large ones."
A meteor is what is seen burning up flying through the atmosphere. A meteorite is what survives the plunge and lands on the earth's surface.
When a meteor lands, researchers can get a better fix about its size and composition by studying isotopes found in the fragments. But the pieces need to be found quickly because the isotopes last for only days or weeks.
The search was hampered, Dr. Grokhovsky said, by officials of Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry, which sealed off the area around an 25-foot-wide hole in the ice of Lake Chebarkul, near Chelyabinsk, where a chunk was believed to have fallen. Ministry divers didn't find anything in the lake.

Chelyabinsk.ru/Associated Press

A meteor contrail was seen over Chelyabinsk, Russia, on Friday. The meteor streaked across the sky of Russia's Urals, causing explosions and injuring around 1,000 people.

A top regional official told Russia's Interfax news agency that the hole appeared there for another reason and wasn't caused by the meteor. "They just don't know what they are looking for," said Dr. Grokhovsky.
Dr. Grokhovsky said that although the meteorite exploded, there are certainly chunks larger than those so far recovered. The black and brown fragments have been fairly easy to spot because they stand out against the snow.
As space visitors go, the meteor wasn't especially exotic. It was of a variety known as ordinary chondrites, which make up most meteorites found on Earth. But it is still of scientific interest.
"Each meteorite is a time capsule and space probe recording the history of our solar system from 4.5 billion years ago," said Caroline Smith, curator of meteorites at London's Natural History Museum. "Whenever you get a new meteorite, you never know what you'll find."
Some of the more intriguing meteorites are partly composed of carbon-based materials, including amino acids and sugars. "The early Earth could well have been seeded with the chemical building blocks you need for life to start," said Dr. Smith.
In addition, scientists have found about 100 meteorites that originated on the moon, and an additional 100 that originated on Mars.
These were formed when an asteroid or comet smacked into the lunar or Martian surface and threw out debris that fell into Earth's gravitational grasp.
By comparison, meteors of the type that hit Russia originate at the earliest reaches of time in the disk of gas and dust that swirled around the early sun. They become denizens of the asteroid belt found between Mars and Jupiter until they fall out of orbit, possibly after a collision.
Some fly near Earth, get pulled in by gravity and meet their end in a blaze of heat and light as they fall toward the ground.

By online.wsj.com

Climate Change And Bible Prophecy

Hail storms, droughts, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, super storms, and more! Why are these happening with ever increasing frequency?

Arguments are raging around the world as to the reality or otherwise of climate change. And also, is man causing it?

Now I'm no scientist and so cannot weigh in to the debate from that angle. But I can provide a view from the Bible as one who reads and believes what it says. Climate change is real and Bible prophecy supports it. There is no doubt about it and regardless of the sceptics; this is not just a natural cycle of events.

The world is baffled at the events taking place in the weather, and yet it was foretold two thousand years ago in bible prophecy that this would happen.

Jesus said, "...there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and pestilences..." (Luke 21:11) In the recent past there have been plagues of locusts and mice across sections of Australia. Earthquakes are being reported with alarming regularity in the news. The United States Geological Survey recorded 16,590 earthquakes in 1990 and this has risen to 31,777 in 2008.

Bible prophecy also says, "...upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and waves..." (Luke 21:25-26)

The frequency and magnitude of tsunamis are clear evidence of the roaring of the sea and waves. The Boxing Day tsunami in South-East Asia (2004) and the recent tsunamis in Fiji and Samoa were unparalleled disasters. Tsunamis have caused such anxiety amongst island and coastal dwellers that unprecedented efforts have gone into development of early warning systems.

In all of these matters the nations are perplexed as to what is causing these chaotic and dramatic shifts in weather. Governments are discussing climate change to an extent previously unheard of across a background of conflicting scientific experts on both sides. Arguments are raging about carbon footprints, emissions trading schemes and the like in attempts to try to do something about these events.

Which brings us to the question: what is causing these dramatic climatic events?

The answer: God. Bible prophecy stated that this would occur in the last days, along with other signs of the times. Signs such as nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom, wars, tumults and rumours of war, all of which point to the end times. These climatic changes were prophesied to herald the last days in preparation for the return of Christ.

Now if these things are signs from God, is there any likelihood that man can prevent these things occurring? Not a chance! If the hand of God is indeed behind these events, then man would have more chance of holding back the tide than trying to prevent these things from happening.

So should we be concerned about this? In short, no we should not. These are prophesied as events that must happen. Christians can actually take heart because these signs are telling us that the time of the Lord's return is soon. We can take comfort in the knowledge that as these things get worse, and they will, we know that the Lord is not far away.

But how bad will it get? Well I can't answer that but it will get worse than it is today. What we are seeing is just a beginning. However the Bible also tells us that when the Lord returns it will be like when God flooded the earth or when he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. He says that the people will eat and drink, marry and be given in marriage right up until the day the Lord returns (Luke 17:26-30). So this tells us that mankind will be doing all of the normal things they do right up until the end.

So is climate change a thing to fear? No. It is a necessary part of the process that God set in train thousands of years ago and from which he will save his people. He has told us two further things in the scriptures from which we can be encouraged. He says, "When these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads because your redemption is drawing near." (Luke 21:28), and, "...when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates." (Matthew 24:33), so take heart and be prepared.

By freegiftfromgod.com

Heat, Flood or Icy Cold, Extreme Weather Rages Worldwide

WORCESTER, England — Britons may remember 2012 as the year the weather spun off its rails in a chaotic concoction of drought, deluge and flooding, but the unpredictability of it all turns out to have been all too predictable: Around the world, extreme has become the new commonplace.

Especially lately. China is enduring its coldest winter in nearly 30 years. Brazil is in the grip of a dreadful heat spell. Eastern Russia is so freezing — minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and counting — that the traffic lights recently stopped working in the city of Yakutsk.

Bush fires are raging across Australia, fueled by a record-shattering heat wave. Pakistan was inundated by unexpected flooding in September. A vicious storm bringing rain, snow and floods just struck the Middle East. And in the United States, scientists confirmed this week what people could have figured out simply by going outside: last year was the hottest since records began.

“Each year we have extreme weather, but it’s unusual to have so many extreme events around the world at once,” said Omar Baddour, chief of the data management applications division at the World Meteorological Organization, in Geneva. “The heat wave in Australia; the flooding in the U.K., and most recently the flooding and extensive snowstorm in the Middle East — it’s already a big year in terms of extreme weather calamity.”

Such events are increasing in intensity as well as frequency, Mr. Baddour said, a sign that climate change is not just about rising temperatures, but also about intense, unpleasant, anomalous weather of all kinds.

Here in Britain, people are used to thinking of rain as the wallpaper on life’s computer screen — an omnipresent, almost comforting background presence. But even the hardiest citizen was rattled by the near-biblical fierceness of the rains that bucketed down, and the floods that followed, three different times in 2012.

Rescuers plucked people by boat from their swamped homes in St. Asaph, North Wales. Whole areas of the country were cut off when roads and train tracks were inundated at Christmas. In Mevagissey, Cornwall, a pub owner closed his business for good after it flooded 11 times in two months.

It was no anomaly: the floods of 2012 followed the floods of 2007 and also the floods of 2009, which all told have resulted in nearly $6.5 billion in insurance payouts. The Met Office, Britain’s weather service, declared 2012 the wettest year in England, and the second-wettest in Britain as a whole, since records began more than 100 years ago. Four of the five wettest years in the last century have come in the past decade (the fifth was in 1954).

The biggest change, said Charles Powell, a spokesman for the Met Office, is the frequency in Britain of “extreme weather events” — defined as rainfall reaching the top 1 percent of the average amount for that time of year. Fifty years ago, such episodes used to happen every 100 days; now they happen every 70 days, he said.

The same thing is true in Australia, where bush fires are raging across Tasmania and the current heat wave has come after two of the country’s wettest years ever. On Tuesday, Sydney experienced its fifth-hottest day since records began in 1910, with the temperature climbing to 108.1 degrees. The first eight days of 2013 were among the 20 hottest on record.

Every decade since the 1950s has been hotter in Australia than the one before, said Mark Stafford Smith, science director of the Climate Adaptation Flagship at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization.

To the north, the extremes have swung the other way, with a band of cold settling across Russia and Northern Europe, bringing thick snow and howling winds to Stockholm, Helsinki and Moscow. (Incongruously, there were also severe snowstorms in Sicily and southern Italy for the first time since World War II; in December, tornadoes and waterspouts struck the Italian coast.)

In Siberia, thousands of people were left without heat when natural gas liquefied in its pipes and water mains burst. Officials canceled bus transportation between cities for fear that roadside breakdowns could lead to deaths from exposure, and motorists were advised not to venture far afield except in columns of two or three cars. In Altai, to the east, traffic officials warned drivers not to use poor-quality diesel, saying that it could become viscous in the cold and clog fuel lines.

Meanwhile, China is enduring its worst winter in recent memory, with frigid temperatures recorded in Harbin, in the northeast. In the western region of Xinjiang, more than 1,000 houses collapsed under a relentless onslaught of snow, while in Inner Mongolia, 180,000 livestock froze to death. The cold has wreaked havoc with crops, sending the price of vegetables soaring.

Way down in South America, energy analysts say that Brazil may face electricity rationing for the first time since 2002, as a heat wave and a lack of rain deplete the reservoirs for hydroelectric plants. The summer has been punishingly hot. The temperature in Rio de Janeiro climbed to 109.8 degrees on Dec. 26, the city’s highest temperature since official records began in 1915.

At the same time, in the Middle East, Jordan is battling a storm packing torrential rain, snow, hail and floods that are cascading through tunnels, sweeping away cars and spreading misery in Syrian refugee camps. Amman has been virtually paralyzed, with cars abandoned, roads impassable and government offices closed.

Israel and the Palestinian territories are grappling with similar conditions, after a week of intense rain and cold winds ushered in a snowstorm that dumped eight inches in Jerusalem alone.

Amir Givati, head of the surface water department at the Israel Hydrological Service, said the storm was truly unusual because of its duration, its intensity and its breadth. Snow and hail fell not just in the north, but as far south as the desert city of Dimona, best known for its nuclear reactor.

In Beirut on Wednesday night, towering waves crashed against the Corniche, the seaside promenade downtown, flinging water and foam dozens of feet in the air as lightning flickered across the dark sea at multiple points along the horizon. Many roads were flooded as hail pounded the city.

Several people died, including a baby boy in a family of shepherds who was swept out of his mother’s arms by floodwaters. The greatest concern was for the 160,000 Syrian refugees who have fled to Lebanon, taking shelter in schools, sheds and, where possible, with local families. Some refugees are living in farm outbuildings, which are particularly vulnerable to cold and rain.

Barry Lynn, who runs a forecasting business and is a lecturer at the Hebrew University’s department of earth science, said a striking aspect of the whole thing was the severe and prolonged cold in the upper atmosphere, a big-picture shift that indicated the Atlantic Ocean was no longer having the moderating effect on weather in the Middle East and Europe that it has historically.

“The intensity of the cold is unusual,” Mr. Lynn said. “It seems the weather is going to become more intense; there’s going to be more extremes.”

In Britain, where changes to the positioning of the jet stream — a ribbon of air high up in the atmosphere that helps steer weather systems — may be contributing to the topsy-turvy weather, people are still recovering from the December floods. In Worcester last week, the river Severn remained flooded after three weeks, with playing fields buried under water.

In the shop at the Worcester Cathedral, Julie Smith, 54, was struggling, she said, to adjust to the new uncertainty.

“For the past seven or eight years, there’s been a serious incident in a different part of the country,” Mrs. Smith said. “We don’t expect extremes. We don’t expect it to be like this.”

By Sarah Lyall

The End Of The World

Since the beginning of human history, speculation about the end of the world has fascinated mankind. Myths and stories about the end of the earth exist in almost every religion and culture ever known. And yet, somehow, men seem unsatisfied with the answers they receive. They turn to Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, or ancient Hindu writings hoping to uncover some modicum of truth that will satisfy their innate desire to know something about the future and the ultimate fate of the world.

Never has mankind's fascination with the end been more prevalent than it is today. Fears of global warming saturate the news media. Worry over a nuclear holocaust persists into its sixth decade. And storylines of asteroids, comets, aliens, or bio-engineered super-diseases wiping out all planetary life continue to dominate the themes of many Hollywood blockbusters. Throughout the world, people are plagued with the same recurring questions. Will the human race become extinct? Will nuclear war or global warming destroy the biosphere? Will the world as we know it continue to exist?

The answer to these questions and many others concerning the end of the world are not found in the writings of Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, or any other self-professed psychic. They can't be found in Islamic, Hindu, or Buddhist writings. However, they can be found in the Bible. The bible, which has a track record of 100% accuracy when it comes to future events, has much to say about the ultimate fate of the earth, the people who live here, and creation itself. For those who wish to know the answers to these age old questions, the bible is your definitive source.

What the Bible Says

According to the bible, the earth is eternal. So despite what some people say, we shouldn't worry about the earth itself being destroyed. However, throughout the ages, the nature of the earth has changed, and it will change again in the near future.

The Book of Genesis teaches that God created the earth and everything in it to be perfect. However, the nature of the earth changed when Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. This act prompted God to place a curse on the earth, and it radically transformed the nature of the earth itself. Several centuries later, the human race had become so corrupt that God decided to destroy it with a flood. However, God spared Noah and his family, allowing them to repopulate the earth of the present day.

Throughout these changes, the earth as a creation has remained intact. But its nature has been radically altered twice. The bible teaches that it will soon be altered third time, and this time, the result will be far different from the previous ages.

The New World

Verses throughout the bible point to the creation of a new earth. This shouldn't be viewed as an entirely new physical creation by God. Rather it should be viewed as a highly transformative process whereby the current earth is reshaped by the hand of God to create a different world. The prophet Isaiah described this process over two thousand years ago:

"Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth " so wonderful that no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more.' Isaiah 65:17-19 (NLT)

The nature of the present earth will change dramatically. It will be transformed from a place of sadness and weeping to a place of intense happiness, where "the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more." The creation of this new earth is also mentioned by Peter who encourages us to live our lives in accordance with God's will. He encourages us to do so, because he knows this present age will soon pass:

"And God has also commanded that the heavens and the earth will be consumed by fire on the day of judgment, when ungodly people will perish." 2 Peter 3:7 (NLT)

"But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and everything in them will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be exposed to judgment." 2 Peter 3:10 (NLT)

"Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living! You should look forward to that day and hurry it along - the day when God will set the heavens on fire and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and the new earth he has promised, a world where everyone is right with God." 2 Peter 3:11-13 (NLT)

From these passages, it is clear that God will one day use fire to create a new earth from the present world. It will be dramatically different from the one in which we live. But how different? What will the new earth look like? The bible provides us with a vivid illustration.

What Will the Future Earth Look Like?

The Book of Isaiah contains a wealth of information on the nature, quality, and characteristics of the new earth. One of the first references is found in Chapter 11:

"In that day, the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard and the goat will be at peace. Calves and yearlings will be safe among lions, and a little child will lead them all. The cattle will graze among bears. Cubs and calves will lie down together. And lions will eat grass as the livestock do. Babies will crawl safely among poisonous snakes. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes and pull it out unharmed. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. And as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord." Isaiah 11:6-9 (NLT)

God will finally lift the curse He placed on the earth following the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. This curse created a conflict between the animal kingdom and mankind with many humans killing animals and many animals killing humans. But on the new earth, "nothing will hurt or destroy." And the number of people who know the Lord will be as endless as the waters in the sea.

Isaiah continues his description in Chapter 65:

"No longer will babies die when only a few days old. No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life. No longer will people be considered old at one hundred! Only sinners will die that young! In those days, people will live in the houses they build and eat the fruit of their own vineyards. It will not be like the past, when invaders took the houses and confiscated the vineyards. For my people will live as long as trees and will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains. They will not work in vain, and their children will not be doomed to misfortune. For they are people blessed by the Lord, and their children, too, will be blessed. I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking to me about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! The wolf and lamb will feed together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. Poisonous snakes will strike no more. In those days, no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain. I, the Lord, have spoken!" Isaiah 65:20-25 (NLT)

Babies will not die, and the lifespan of the human race will be extended well beyond current expectations. Life expectancy will be so great that the death of a one hundred year old person will be a notable tragedy. People will enjoy the fruits of their labor without fear that someone will come and steal what they have. The people of the new earth will be so close to God that He will answer their prayers before they have even prayed them! Animals who are natural enemies in our age will become friends on the new earth, and all the animals of the earth will be herbivores.

In addition, waters will burst forth and give life to that which was previously uninhabitable:

"And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will shout and sing! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the desert. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived." Isaiah 35:5-7 (NLT)

The first part of this passage was partially fulfilled in the miracles of Jesus Christ. Through the life of Christ, the human race received a glimpse of the new earth that is to come. It will be a place where the miracles performed by Christ two thousand years ago will be in perpetual abundance. The blind will see. The deaf will hear. The lame will leap like deer, and the mute will shout and sing.

Meanwhile, the land will be blessed with life-giving water:

"On that day life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean, flowing continuously both in summer and winter. And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord - his name alone will be worshiped." Zechariah 14:8-9 (NLT)

The Dead Sea will spring to life, and the name of the Lord alone will be worshiped throughout the world. All idols, false religions, and false prophets will disappear. The new earth will be filled with people who know the Lord and are devoted to Him only.

More importantly, the Lord Himself will be king over all of the earth. He will dwell among His people, providing them with everything they need:

"In the last days, the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem will become the most important place on earth. People from all over the world will go there to worship. Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Israel. There he will teach us his ways, so that we may obey him." For in those days the Lord's teaching and his word will go out from Jerusalem. The Lord will settle international disputes. All the nations will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. All wars will stop, and military training will come to an end. Everyone will live quietly in their own homes in peace and prosperity, for there will be nothing to fear. The Lord Almighty has promised this!" Micah 4:1-4 (NLT)

On the new earth, Jerusalem will be the center of the world. It will be the dwelling place of the Lord, and people from every nation will travel to Jerusalem to worship and to have their disputes settled. War will no longer exist. Because of this, armies and weapons will no longer exist. The Lord will settle all disputes, and the people will devote the energy they previously expended on war to prosperous living and worship of the Lord. Peace and prosperity will be abundant, and there will be nothing to fear.

Knowing what we now know about the new earth, who would not want to live there? Unfortunately, the bible also tells us that many will turn down their invitation to this blessed new world. The only way to get there will be to place one's trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, who will be the undisputed ruler of the new earth.

When Will This Future World Arrive?

Because the new earth is the creation of Jesus Christ, it will not arrive until after His Glorious Appearing. In the interim, many politicians, idealists, and others will conjure their own ideas of how to create such a world. But placing faith in any of these people or their schemes will only lead to disappointment.

For the bible is clear that the new earth will only arrive when God comes to physically dwell among His people:

"I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, 'Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.'" Revelation 21:3-4 (NLT)

When God dwells among men, the earth will no longer harbor death or sorrow or crying or pain. It will be a new world. The old world will have come to an end - its evils gone forever.

The End of the World is Not to be Feared

Knowing the promises of the Lord, none of us should live in fear of the end of the world. The present fears of this world are fleeting in nature, and the Lord is in perfect control. He has made clear the end from the beginning, and it is clear that the final end of this world is not a time to mourn, but rather a time to celebrate. Jesus Himself reiterated this concept:

"The courage of many people will falter because of the fearful fate they see coming upon the earth, because the stability of the very heavens will be broken up. Then everyone will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds with power and great glory. So when all these things begin to happen, stand straight and look up, for your salvation is near!" Luke 21:26-28 (NLT)

The arrival of Jesus Christ at the Glorious Appearing should not be a time of anguish, but a time to rejoice. Although we are familiar with the things of this world, we can not fathom the glory of that which God has in store for us. It will far surpass the things of this world, so we should patiently and eagerly await the Lord's return. For Christ's return will bring with it our salvation and the blessings of the new earth.

Conclusion

Those who worry about the end of the world or live in fear of a great worldwide catastrophe are not living their lives in accordance with God. For God tells us to live boldly and without fear of the things of this world:

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)

Don't worry about global warming or a nuclear holocaust. Don't live in fear of a worldwide pandemic or asteroids or comets or aliens or massive volcanoes. The Lord is in control of everything, and He has already revealed what will happen to this present age. He will usher in the end of the world and transform the earth into his own dwelling place. Therefore, if we are to have fear of anything, it should be the Lord Himself. The prophet Isaiah agrees:

"Do not fear anything except the Lord Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear him, you need fear nothing else." Isaiah 8:13 (NLT)

Jesus reminds His disciples of this command while teaching them not to fear persecution:

'Don't be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.' Matthew 10:28 (NLT)

In short, don't fear the end of this world. Celebrate it. Christ is coming. And when He arrives, He will eliminate all the evils of this world, including our fear and worry.

By Britt Gillette

Is This Pope Going To Be The Last Pope?

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.

By wnd.com Condensed from the book Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope Is Here

Pope Benedict Resigns!

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict shocked the world on Monday by saying he no longer had the mental and physical strength to cope with his ministry, in an announcement that left his aides "incredulous" and will make him the first pontiff to step down since the Middle Ages.

The German-born Pope, 85, hailed as a hero by conservative Roman Catholics and viewed with suspicion by liberals, told cardinals in Latin that his strength had deteriorated recently. He will step down on February 28 and the Vatican expects a new Pope to be chosen by the end of March.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the Pope had not decided to resign because of "difficulties in the papacy" and the move had been a surprise, indicating that even his inner circle was unaware that he was about to quit.

The Pope does not fear schism in the Church after his resignation, the spokesman said.

The Pope's leadership of 1.2 billion Catholics has been beset by child sexual abuse crises that tarnished the Church, one address in which he upset Muslims and a scandal over the leaking of his private papers by his personal butler.

The pope told the cardinals that in order to govern "...both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.

"For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter."

He also referred to "today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith."

The last Pope to resign willingly was Celestine V in 1294 after reigning for only five months, his resignation was known as "the great refusal" and was condemned by the poet Dante in the "Divine Comedy". Gregory XII reluctantly abdicated in 1415 to end a dispute with a rival claimant to the papacy.

"NO OUTSIDE PRESSURE," JUST ADVANCING AGE

Before he was elected Pope, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was known by such critical epithets as "God's rottweiler" because of his stern stand on theological issues.

But after several years into his new job Benedict showed that he not only did not bite but barely even barked.

In recent months, the pope has looked increasingly frail in public, sometimes being helped to walk by those around him.

Lombardi ruled out depression or uncertainty as being behind the resignation, saying the move was not due to any specific illness, just advancing age.

The Pope had shown "great courage, determination" aware of the "great problems the church faces today", he said, adding the timing may have reflected the Pope's desire to avoid the exhausting rush of Easter engagements.

There was no outside pressure and Benedict took his "personal decision" in the last few months, he added.

Israel's Chief Rabbi praised Benedict's inter-faith outreach and wished him good health. The Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Anglican Church, said he had learned of the Pope's decision with a heavy heart but complete understanding.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the Pope's decision must be respected if he feels he is too weak to carry out his duties. British Prime Minister David Cameron said: "He will be missed as a spiritual leader to millions."

The pontiff would step down from 2 p.m. ET on February 28, leaving the office vacant until a successor was chosen to Benedict who succeeded John Paul, one of history's most popular pontiffs, the spokesman said.

Elected to the papacy on April 19, 2005 when he was 78 - 20 years older than John Paul was when he was elected - Benedict ruled over a slower-paced, more cerebral and less impulsive Vatican.

MEEK DEMEANOUR, STEELY INTELLECT

But while conservatives cheered him for trying to reaffirm traditional Catholic identity, his critics accused him of turning back the clock on reforms by nearly half a century and hurting dialogue with Muslims, Jews and other Christians.

Under the German's meek demeanor lay a steely intellect ready to dissect theological works for their dogmatic purity and debate fiercely against dissenters.

After appearing uncomfortable in the limelight at the start, he began feeling at home with his new job and showed that he intended to be Pope in his way.

Despite great reverence for his charismatic, globe-trotting predecessor -- whom he put on the fast track to sainthood and whom he beatified in 2011 -- aides said he was determined not to change his quiet manner to imitate John Paul's style.

A quiet, professorial type who relaxed by playing the piano, he managed to show the world the gentle side of the man who was the Vatican's chief doctrinal enforcer for nearly a quarter of a century.

The first German pope for some 1,000 years and the second non-Italian in a row, he traveled regularly, making about four foreign trips a year, but never managed to draw the oceanic crowds of his predecessor.

The child abuse scandals hounded most of his papacy. He ordered an official inquiry into abuse in Ireland, which led to the resignation of several bishops.

STRING OF SCANDALS

Scandal from a source much closer to home hit in 2012 when the pontiff's butler, responsible for dressing him and bringing him meals, was found to be the source of leaked documents alleging corruption in the Vatican's business dealings, causing an international furor.

He confronted his own country's past when he visited the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.

Calling himself "a son of Germany", he prayed and asked why God was silent when 1.5 million victims, most of them Jews, died there during World War Two.

Ratzinger served in the Hitler Youth during World War Two when membership was compulsory. He was never a member of the Nazi party and his family opposed Adolf Hitler's regime.

But his trip to Germany also prompted the first major crisis of his pontificate. In a university lecture he quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor as saying Islam had only brought evil to the world and that it was spread by the sword.

After protests that included attacks on churches in the Middle East and the killing of a nun in Somalia, the Pope later said he regretted any misunderstanding the speech caused.

[JoA: Which of course disproved the allegation!]

In a move that was widely seen as conciliatory, in late 2006 he made a historic trip to predominantly Muslim Turkey and prayed in Istanbul's Blue Mosque with a Turkish Mufti.

But months later, former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami met the Pope and said wounds between Christians and Muslims were still "very deep" as a result of the Regensburg speech.

(Writing by Peter Millership; editing by Janet McBride and Ralph Boulton)

The Prophecies of Malachy?

Pope No.	Name (Reign)	Motto No.	Motto (and explanation)
167	Celestine II (1143-1144)	1	Ex castro Tyberis (from a castle on the Tiber) Hist.: Celestin II was born in Citta di Castello, Toscany, on the shores of the Tiber
168	Lucius II (1144-1145)	2	Inimicus expulsus
169	Eugene III (1145-1153)	3	Ex magnitudine montis (Of the greatness of the mount) Hist.: Born in the castle of Grammont (latin: mons magnus), his family name was Montemagno
170	Anastasius IV (1153-1154)	4	Abbas Suburranus
171	Adrian IV (1154-1159)	5	De rure albo (field of Albe) Hist.: Born in the town of Saint-Alban
Antipope	Victor IV (1159-1164)	6	Ex tetro carcere
Antipope	Paschal III (1164-1168)	7	Via trans-Tyberina
Antipope	Calistus III (1168-1178)	8	De Pannonia Tusciæ
172	Alexander III (1159-1181)	9	Ex ansere custode
173	Lucius III (1181-1185)	10	Lux in ostio
174	Urban III (1185-1187)	11	Sus in cribo
175	Gregory VIII (1187)	12	Ensis Laurentii
176	Clement III (1187-1191)	13	De schola exiet
177	Celestine III (1191-1198)	14	De rure bovensi
178	Innocent III (1198-1216)	15	Comes signatus (signed Count) Hist.: descendant of the noble Signy, later called Segni family
179	Honorius III (1216-1227)	16	Canonicus de latere
180	Gregory IX (1227-1241)	17	Avis Ostiensis (Bird of Ostia) Hist.: before his election he was Cardinal of Ostia
181	Celestine IV (1241)	18	Leo Sabinus
182	Innocent IV (1243-1254)	19	Comes Laurentius
183	Alexander IV (1254-1261)	20	Signum Ostiense
184	Urban IV (1261-1264)	21	Hierusalem Campaniæ (Jerusalem of Champagne) Hist.: native of Troyes, Champagne, later patriarch of Jerusalem
185	Clement IV (1265-1268)	22	Draca depressus
186	Gregory X (1271-1276)	23	Anguinus vir
187	Innocent V (1276)	24	Concionatur Gallus
188	Adrian V (1276)	25	Bonus Comes
189	John XXI (1276-1277)	26	Piscator Tuscus
190	Nicholas III (1277-1280)	27	Rosa composita
191	Martin IV (1281-1285)	28	Ex teloneo liliacei Martini
192	Honorius IV (1285-1287)	29	Ex rosa leonina
193	Nicholas IV (1288-1292)	30	Picus inter escas
194	Nicholas IV (1288-1292)	31	Ex eremo celsus (elevated from a hermit) Hist.: prior to his election he was a hermit in the monastery of Pouilles
195	Boniface VIII (1294-1303)	32	Ex undarum benedictione
196	Benedict XI (1303-1304)	33	Concionator patereus
197	Clement V (1305-1314)	34	De fessis Aquitanicis (ribbon of Aquitaine) Hist.: was archbishop of Bordeaux in Aquitaine
198	John XXII (1316-1334)	35	De sutore osseo (of the cobbler of Osseo) Hist.: Family name Ossa, son of a shoe-maker
Antipope	Nicholas V (1328-1330)	36	Corvus schismaticus (the schismatic crow) Note the reference to the schism, the only antipope at this period
199	Benedict XII (1334-1342)	37	Frigidus Abbas (cold friar) Hist.: he was a priest in the monastery of Frontfroid (coldfront)
200	Clement VI (1342-1352)	38	De rosa Attrebatensi
201	Innocent VI (1352-1362)	39	De montibus Pammachii
202	Urban V (1362-1370)	40	Gallus Vice-comes
203	Gregory XI (1370-1378)	41	Novus de Virgine forti (novel of the virgin fort) Hist.: count of Beaufort, later Cardinal of Ste-Marie La Neuve
Antipope	Clement VII (1378-1394)	42	De cruce Apostilica
Antipope	Benedict XIII (1394-1423)	43	Luna Cosmedina
Antipope	Clement VIII (1423-1429)	44	Schisma Barcinonicum
204	Urban VI (1378-1389)	45	De Inferno pregnani(From the hell of Pregnani) Hist.: He was a town called Inferno in the region of Pregnani.
205	Boniface IX (1389-1404)	46	Cubus de mixtione
206	Innocent VII (1404-1406)	47	De meliore sydere
207	Gregory XII (1406-1415)	48	Nauta de ponte nigro
Antipope	Alexander V (1409-1410)	49	Flagellum Solis
Antipope	John XXIII (1410-1415)	50	Cervus Sirenæ
208	Martin V (1417-1431)	51	Corona veli aurei
209	Eugene IV (1431-1447)	52	Lupa cælestina
Antipope	Felix V (1439-1449)	53	Amator crucis
210	Nicholas V (1447-1455)	54	De modicitate lunæ
211	Callistus III (1455-1458)	55	Bos pascens (grazing ox) Hist.: Alphonse Borgia's arms sported a golden grazing ox
212	Pius II (1458-1464)	56	De capra et Albergo
213	Paul II (1464-1471)	57	De cervo et Leone
214	Sixtus IV (1471-1484)	58	Piscator Minorita
215	Innocent VIII (1484-1492)	59	Præcursor Siciliæ
216	Alexander VI (1492-1503)	60	Bos Albanus in portu
217	Pius III (1503)	61	De parvo homine
218	Julius II (1503-1513)	62	Fructus jovis juvabit
219	Leo X (1513-1521)	63	De craticula Politiana
220	Adrian VI (1522-1523)	64	Leo Florentius
221	Clement VII (1523-1534)	65	Flos pilæi ægri
222	Paul III (1534-1549)	66	Hiacynthus medicorum
223	Julius III (1550-1555)	67	De corona Montana
224	Marcellus II (1555)	68	Frumentum floccidum
225	Paul IV (1555-1559)	69	De fide Petri
226	Pius IV (1559-1565)	70	Æsculapii pharmacum
227	St. Pius V (1566-1572)	71	Angelus nemorosus
228	Gregory XIII (1572-1585)	72	Medium corpus pilarum
229	Sixtus V (1585-1590)	73	Axis in medietate signi
230	Urban VII (1590)	74	De rore cæli
231	Gregory XIV (1590-1591)	75	De antiquitate Urbis
232	Innocent IX (1591)	76	Pia civitas in bello
233	Clement VIII (1592-1605)	77	Crux Romulea
234	Leo XI (1605)	78	Undosus Vir
235	Paul V (1605-1621)	79	Gens perversa
236	Gregory XV (1621-1623)	80	In tribulatione pacis
237	Urban VIII (1623-1644)	81	Lilium et rosa
238	Innocent X (1644-1655)	82	Jucunditas crucis
239	Alexander VII (1655-1667)	83	Montium custos
240	Clement IX (1667-1669)	84	Sydus Olorum (constellation of swans) Hist.: upon his election, he was apparently the occupant of the Chamber of Swans in the Vatican.
241	Clement X (1670-1676)	85	De flumine magno
242	Innocent XI (1676-1689)	86	Bellua insatiabilis
243	Alexander VIII (1689-1691)	87	Pœnitentia gloriosa
244	Innocent XII (1691-1700)	88	Rastrum in porta
245	Clement XI (1700-1721)	89	Flores circumdati
246	Innocent XIII (1721-1724)	90	De bona Religione
247	Benedict XIII (1724-1730)	91	Miles in bello
248	Clement XII (1730-1740)	92	Columna excelsa
249	Benedict XIV (1740-1758)	93	Animal rurale
250	Clement XIII (1758-1769)	94	Rosa Umbriæ
251	Clement XIV (1769-1774)	95	Ursus velox
252	Pius VI (1775-1799)	96	Peregrinus Apostolicus
253	Pius VII (1800-1823)	97	Aquila rapax
254	Leo XII (1823-1829)	98	Canis et coluber
255	Pius VIII (1829-1830)	99	Vir religiosus
256	Gregory XVI (1831-1846)	100	De balneis hetruriæ (bath of Etruria) Hist.: prior to his election he was member of an order founded by Saint Romuald, at Balneo, in Etruria, present day Toscany.
257	Pius IX (1846-1878)	101	Crux de cruce (Cross of Crosses) Hist.:Pius XI was the last Pope to reign over the Papal States (the middle third of what is today Italy). He ended up being a prisoner of the Vatican, never venturing outside Vatican City. A much heavier burden than his predecessors.
258	Leo XIII (1878-1903)	102	Lumen in cælo<BR.>(Light in the Heavens) Hist.: Leo XIII wrote encyclicals on Catholic social teaching that were still being digested 100 years later. He added considerably to theology.
259	St. Pius X (1903-1914)	103	Ignis ardens (ardent fire) Hist.: The Pope had great personal piety and achieved a number of important reforms in the devotional and liturgical life of priests and laypeople.
260	Benedict XV (1914-1922)	104	Religio depopulata (Religion laid waste) Hist.: This Pope reigned during the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia which store the establishment of Communism.
261	Pius XI (1922-1939)	105	Fides intrepida (Intrepid faith) Hist.: This Pope stood up to Fascist and Communist forces lining up against him in the lead up to World War II.
262	Pius XII (1939-1958)	106	Pastor angelicus (Angelic Shepherd) Hist.: This Pope was very mystical, and is believed to have received visions. People would kneel when they received telephone calls from him. His encyclicals add enormously to the understanding of Catholic beliefs (even if they are now overlooked because of focus on the Second Vatican Council, which occurred so soon after his reign).
263	John XXIII (1958-1963)	107	Pastor et Nauta (pastor and marine) Hist.: prior to his election he was patriarch of Venice, a marine city, home of the gondolas
264	Paul VI (1963-1978)	108	Flos florum (flower of flowers) Hist.: his arms displayed three lilies.
265	John Paul I (1978)	109	De medietate Lunæ (of the half of the moon) Hist.: Albino Luciani, born in Canale d'Agardo, diocese of Belluno, (beautiful moon) Elected pope on August 26, his reign lasted about a month, from half a moon to the next half...
266	John Paul II (1978-2005)	110	De labore Solis (of the eclipse of the sun, or from the labour of the sun) Hist.: Karol Wojtyla was born on May 18, 1920 during a solar eclipse. He also comes from behind the former Iron Curtain (the East, where the Sun rises). He might also be seen to be the fruit of the intercession of the Woman Clothed with the Sun labouring in Revelation 12 (because of his devotion to the Virgin Mary). His Funeral occurred on 8 April, 2005 when there was a solar eclipse visible in the Americas.
267	Benedict XVI (2005-2013)	111	Gloria olivæ Proponents of the prophecies generally try to draw a connection between Benedict and the Olivetan order to explain this motto: Benedict's choice of papal name is after Saint Benedict of Nursia, founder of the Benedictine Order, of which the Olivetans are one branch. Other explanations make reference to him has being a pope dedicated to peace and reconciliations of which the olive branch is the symbol.
			In persecutione extrema S.R.E. sedebit Petrus Romanus, qui pascet oves in multis tribulationibus: quibus transactis civitas septicollis diruetur, & Judex tremêdus judicabit populum suum. Finis. (In extreme persecution, the seat of the Holy Roman Church will be occupied by Peter the Roman, who will feed the sheep through many tribulations, at the term of which the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the formidable Judge will judge his people. The End.)