Dear Lovers of
Truth,
This is a bit early to send, but in a week’s time the
news will be stale.
The
resignation of Pope Benedict XVI has come as a shock to the
Vatican
and Catholics generally. He has been popular with the
laity and most of the clergy He has
also placed relations with Israel
on a better footing by rejecting “Secessionism” – which
denies that Israel
is “the chosen race” and
therefore has no right to the Promised Land. However, since a conference he
called to discuss the Middle East
was held in Rome
during October 2010, he has had serious opposition to this policy, as shown
below:
 |
| English: Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
JERUSALEM POST 23/10/2010 - In a final joint
communiqué, the bishops also told Israel
it shouldn’t use the Bible to
justify “injustices” against the
Palestinians. The bishops issued the
statement at the close of their two-week meeting, called by Pope Benedict XVI to discuss the plight of Christians in the
Middle East amid a major exodus of the faithful from the
region.
The Catholic Church has long been a minority in the largely Muslim region but its presence is shrinking further as a result of war, conflict, discrimination and economic problems. .
“The Holy Scriptures cannot be used to justify the return of Jews to Israel and the displacement of the Palestinians, to justify the occupation by Israel of Palestinian lands,” Monsignor Cyril Salim Bustros, Greek Melkite archbishop of Our Lady of the Annunciation in Boston, Massachusetts, and president of the “Commission for the Message,” said at Saturday’s Vatican press conference. “We ‘Christians’ cannot speak of the ‘promised land’ as an exclusive right for a privileged Jewish people. This promise was nullified by Christ. There is no longer a chosen people – all men and women of all countries have become the chosen people. “Even if the head of the Israeli state is Jewish, the future is based on democracy. The Palestinian refugees will eventually come back and this problem will have to be solved,” the Lebanese-born Bustros said.
The Catholic Church has long been a minority in the largely Muslim region but its presence is shrinking further as a result of war, conflict, discrimination and economic problems. .
“The Holy Scriptures cannot be used to justify the return of Jews to Israel and the displacement of the Palestinians, to justify the occupation by Israel of Palestinian lands,” Monsignor Cyril Salim Bustros, Greek Melkite archbishop of Our Lady of the Annunciation in Boston, Massachusetts, and president of the “Commission for the Message,” said at Saturday’s Vatican press conference. “We ‘Christians’ cannot speak of the ‘promised land’ as an exclusive right for a privileged Jewish people. This promise was nullified by Christ. There is no longer a chosen people – all men and women of all countries have become the chosen people. “Even if the head of the Israeli state is Jewish, the future is based on democracy. The Palestinian refugees will eventually come back and this problem will have to be solved,” the Lebanese-born Bustros said.
This brought swift condemnation from both Jewish and
Fundamentalist Christian spokesmen.
Mordechay Lewy, Israel’s
ambassador to the Holy See, told The
Jerusalem Post that Bustros, in saying that Jesus nullified God’s
covenant with the Jewish people, was “returning to secessionist theology, contradicting Second Vatican
Council teaching and Pope Benedict himself – who has welcomed the return of Jews to their
ancient homeland.”
“Also,” added the ambassador, “by inviting all Palestinian refugees to return and denying Israel’s right to define itself a Jewish state – the only such in the world – he is regressing to hard-line positions that deny Israel’s right to exist.”
“Also,” added the ambassador, “by inviting all Palestinian refugees to return and denying Israel’s right to define itself a Jewish state – the only such in the world – he is regressing to hard-line positions that deny Israel’s right to exist.”
It would
appear that the next pope will have
to deal with a rather divided
fraternity among the cardinals and other leading clerics when dealing with weighty Middle East policies.
This is in
keeping with Biblical prophecies which indicate the
obstinacy that the nations will encounter
when endeavouring to solve the
problem of Israel - and Jerusalem in particular.
Zechariah
12:2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they
shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome
stone for all people: all that burden themselves
with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the
people of the earth be gathered together
against it.
Media speculation has also centred around the
numerous violations by the Roman
Catholic clergy perpetrated on their
charges and the negative publicity
resulting from it must play on the
pope’s mind, especially that the
investigations are now centred in Bavaria, the
pope’s home country.
The
shattering effect this is having on the
Roman church seems the likely
fulfilment of
Revelation 14: 8 And there
followed another angel, saying,
Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations
drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 9 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, 10
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:
This only the beginning
of troubles for the R.C.Church as there are three more judgements to follow!
NOT JUST SYRIA!
Although to
slaughter and refugee situation in Syria occupies much of the Television news bulletins, similar situations
are developing in most Arab countries from, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt,
across Northern Africa and down to the Central African countries. The unrest and
violence doesn’t stop there
but is becoming world-wide.
Every day
we hear of terrorists bombing innocent civilians – women and children
– and then proudly owning up
as the perpetrators of these horrific murders as if God Himself approved of
them! They have some terrifying
experiences awaiting them
at the hand of the judge of all the
earth!
In Bangladesh, Shri Lanka, and India thousands pour onto the streets in protest for their
rights, while Pakistanis plead with their
government to stop the slaughter of
so many Shi’ites!
In the Pacific region China
and Japan argue over almost
bare islands while North
Korea threatens their
kinsmen in the South with
annihilation from atomic bombs!
You will
readily bring to mind the words of
our Lord Jesus, most recorded in three of the
gospels:
Luke 21:9 But when ye shall hear
of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these
things must first come to pass; but the
end is not by and by. 10 Then said he unto them,
Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: 11 And great
earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and
fearful sights and great signs shall there
be from heaven. 25 And there shall
be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the
stars; and upon the earth distress
of nations, with perplexity; the sea
and the waves roaring; 26
Men’s hearts failing them for
fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the
powers of heaven shall be shaken.
The Gospel
in Mark13 has these words as well:
Mark
13:19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the
creation which God created unto this time, neither
shall be. 20 And except that the
Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath
shortened the days.
Well, it is
comforting to know that the Lord God
is aware of all that is going on – but how can He show us that He knows?
Fulfilment of prophecy is His best witness - BUT did you see this? 
This photo of lightning striking the
top of St. Peter’s basilica in
Rome occurred
only hours after the pope’s
resignation speech! Was
it approval or a warning? Or both?
Job
37: 2 Hear attentively the noise of his
voice, and the sound that goeth out
of his mouth. 3 He directeth it under the
whole heaven, and his lightning unto the
ends of the earth. 4 After it a
voice roareth: he thundereth with the
voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them
when his voice is heard. 5 God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great
things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.
Deut. 29:29 The secret things
belong unto the LORD our God: but
those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever,
that we may do all the words of this
law.
In the Master’s Service,
Art
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