Written by Jerry Robinson
Originally Posted on 4/25/2005
First, an apology to our faithful readers for the lack of commentary updates for the last two weeks. The delay was due to some personal issues. Everything is now copasetic... It is good to be back.
A lot of events have transpired since my last commentary on 4/4/05: Building intensity between China and Japan, a historic meeting between Bush and Sharon in Crawford, Texas, continued militaristic expansion and integration in terrorist regions, American economic uncertainty, and a new pope...
Pope Benedict XVI
To our faithful readers, I ask you to bear with me while I take on something that I feel I should confront. Recently, I have received a plethora of emails from concerned folks concerning the new pope. The installation of Pope Benedict XVI last week left many Christians wondering about the ever-popular Catholic prophecies attributed to St. Malachy. If you are not familiar with these prophecies, click here. According to some Catholic traditions, St. Malachy (1094-1148) received a vision of all of the future popes that would rule the church until the end of the world. This prophetic list of popes tends to surface during every papal election, and was popularized once again during this papal transition by Bro. Hal Lindsey in a recent article entitled: An Extraordinary Prophecy
Are the prophecies real? Did God intend them to be a sign for our generation? According to most Catholic (and other religious) scholars, the prophecies attributed to St. Malachy are probably clever forgeries produced by Jesuit priests in the 1600's. While they are certainly interesting, I do not claim to know if they are holy in nature. But I do know that the children of God need to be watchful and sober. I have studied the St. Malachy prophecies and I find them extremely intriguing. I believe that they could be accurate -- but my eschatology is based strictly upon the Word of God. As Christians, we must trust in the scriptures first and foremost and filter all things through them. Sola Scriptura! We are living in a day and an hour in which every one of us are possible candidates for deception. We must keep our guard up against the enemy and keep our eyes on Jesus and his Holy Word.
"All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the LORD endures forever." --1 Peter 1:24,25
I must admit that I was truly dismayed that Bro. Hal Lindsey, in his article, considered St. Malachy prophecy's precision to be a foregone conclusion, even though it's history and accuracy are both extremely questionable. In prophecy, we can presume nothing. Watching for the Lord's coming is one of the most difficult things a Christian can do. On one hand, we are excited at the prospect of the soon coming of Jesus, and on the other hand, it is tempting to see things that we want to see. Our most important task in watching for the coming of the Lord is to keep our eyes on Jesus. It is my opinion that the spiritual climate we are currently in is ripe for deception.
Who's the Antichrist? -- I Care Not
And while I am on the subject, let me make a few more enemies by stating that the identity of the Antichrist is unimportant. I am aware of most of the usual suspects on the Antichrist candidate list. And lately, I have received an enormous amount of email pointing my attention to the EU foreign minister, Javier Solana, as the newest leading candidate. A couple of websites have popularized this view and apparently this fellow is being promoted in some prophecy circles as the possible antichrist. My heart breaks when I think of the sad state of American Christianity.
Please listen to me very carefully. God has raised me up, and others like me, to preach and provide the body of Christ with a sound endtime doctrine. In these days of deception, a sound end-times doctrine is vital to the body of Christ. I have been called to specifically battle this type of nonsense such as naming the antichrist, or relying upon extraneous prophecies for the purposes of theology. As Christians, we are called to watch and be sober. We are called to be fishers of men. We are called to spread the gospel around the world. And we are called to be looking 'up' for Christ's return, not looking behind every tree and bush for the Antichrist. This is error.
Even if someone were to guess the true identity of the antichrist, do you know that God would not allow it to bear witness in people's hearts? The Bible tells us that the identity of the antichrist is sealed (2 Thess. 2:3). God will reveal him in his own time. So, in essence, it is a waste of time, serves no meaningful purpose, and distracts us from the task at hand: Reaching others for Christ!
As far as the St. Malachy prophecies are concerned, it is my belief that they could be true. Or they could be false... According to statistics 101, that means there is a 50% chance of accuracy. But we know the Word of God is true. It has a 100% accuracy rate. Let's rely upon it and less upon the words of mere men. I urge you to be quick to receive the Word of God and slow to receive the words of man. Allow yourself to be skeptical. Seek after truth alone. We have been given "a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed." (2 Peter 1:19) Let everything else be suspect, until it proves itself. Remember, you are under no obligation to receive anything but the Word of God. Don't be fooled. I am writing to keep you from error. There is much more erroneous teaching to come, according to the scriptures. Get yourself ready. Be strong in the word. Don't make yourself an easy target for error by embracing anything and everything that is 'prophetic.' Children of God, be cautious.
The enemy is making his last stand in these final days. He is doing all he can to distract us, to get our eyes off of the Word of God and onto something else, anything else -- even something that is 'prophetic' in nature. He will use anything. Do not be deceived.
And just as Satan's stand is transparent, I am making my stand known. I choose to stand firm on the rock of my salvation. I am clinging like a vine on a tree in a violent windstorm to my God and to his revealed truth. (2 Tim. 3:16) To you the reader, I pledge that I will, by the grace of God, not allow myself to fall prey to the various winds of doctrine that are blowing through the church in this hour. I refuse to fall prey to the doctrine of the week or the revelation of the month. God's holy word is sufficient for me. How about you?
Jerry Robinson is the founder of Jerry Robinson Ministries, a ministry devoted to taking the Gospel of Jesus' First Coming to the unbeliever, and the Good News of Jesus' Second Coming to the Global church. He is an ordained minister, writer, and speaker and holds university degrees in International Economics and Religious Studies. Additionally, Jerry operates jerryrobinson.org, an internationally known website that archives and analyzes global events through the lens of biblical prophecy.