Short pontificate fulfills the prophecy of Revelation 17. The press announced that Benedict was the Vatican's seventh head of state. His short pontificate, which comes to an end after seven years and ten months, fulfills the prediction of Revelation, chapter 17. Speaking about the seventh king of Vatican, it reads: "but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while". (Revelation 17:10) The news of the pope's resignation puts many on alert. This is because Revelation 17:11 reads: "the beast... is... the eighth". So, many ask themselves: “What now? Will we see the beast in the next few days?" The precise answer can be found by studying the Bible in depth. A study of prophecy shows that we should not be carried away by fanatical excitement. God does not want us to serve Him out of fear or out of excitement, but out of love.
Verse 12 reads: "The ten hornsyou saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hourwill receive authority as kings along with the beast". We believe that these will be the ten kings of the "New World Order", a system of global government in which the world will be divided into ten political and economic regions called "kingdoms". This system was proposed by the Club of Rome in the 70s, and is currently in the process of formation. The European Union, followed by the other blocs - Mercosur and others - are instruments in this process. But, politics aside, what interests us in the study of prophecy is the fact that the kings of the New World Order have not yet emerged. The prophecy says that "ten kings" will arise and they will reign "together with the beast". That is, until the ten kings appear, the beast will not rule over the earth. The consolidation process of this great system of global government, under normal conditions, takes years. Therefore, if the current pace of events remains the same, we will wait a few more years to watch the appearance of the beast. Understanding what awaits us, we can foresee some tests that the believers in the prophecy of Revelation 17 will go through. Today, when they see that the words "he must remain for only a little while" were fulfilled in Benedict XVI, many will certainly be awakened. But the passing of months and years without the apperance of the beast may lead many to discredit the message of prophecy - and this would be in perfect harmony with God's way of conducting things. Biblical history shows that He uses delay to let men reveal what is in their hearts. Portraying the condition of the church at the time of His second coming, Jesus spoke, in a parable: “The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep". (Matthew 25:5) And he also warned: “But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”. (Matthew 24:48-51) We believe that the same thing, and for the same purpose, will happen now. The story of the virgins who were waiting for the bridegroom is an example before us. A delay in the fulfillment of the rest of the prophecy will put believers to sleep. Many, when awakened by an extraordinary event, make new purposes with God, accompanied by superficial confessions. However, as the months pass and things calm down, they return to their previous lives, dishonoring God in their misconduct. Time reveals that they had no vital connection with Christ. Meanwhile, true believers continue to seek Christ and develop a deep relationship with Him. They will be prepared for the end of time. They will be like the wise virgins in the parable of Christ, who have accumulated oil through daily Bible study and prayer. The rest will be shipwrecked in faith. They will fall into the abyss of unbelief. In short, we expect that there will be some delay between Benedict XVI's resignation and the rise of the next pope. But we have the Bible's advice:
“Then the Lord replied:
“Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.
“See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness ” (Habakkuk 2:2-4) In 2008 we launched a book that presents an in-depth study of the prophecy of the last popes, entitled: "The Eighth". An entire chapter of it is dedicated to explaining the "time of delay", which must occur from the resignation of Benedict XVI until the arrival of the beast. It also addresses the topic of New World Order formation and others of current interest to the sincere believers. Such book can be downloaded in the BOOKS page of this website. Let us remain in faith, for the day of the Lord is nearer than when we first believed. God bless you, Pr. Jairo Carvalho