Why do some people think the Pope is the antichrist?

[Carlj1497]

I think it’s ridiculous because won’t the antichrist be someone who nobody suspects? Won’t everyone love the antichrist? So if someone is accused of being the antichrist, then doesn’t that mean they’re not?

 

[livingwordunity]

I think it’s ridiculous because won’t the antichrist be someone who nobody suspects? Won’t everyone love the antichrist? So if someone is accused of being the antichrist, then doesn’t that mean they’re not?

The first logical question is which Pope are they talking about? So far there have been 266 of them. The next is to ask what does the Holy Bible actually say about the Antichrist? The following are the basic biblical prerequisites one has to meet to be the Antichrist:

“Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.” - 1 John 2:22

“and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of antichrist, of which you heard that it was coming, and now it is in the world already.” - 1 John 4:3

“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.” - 2 John 1:7

None of these descriptions fits with any of our 266 Popes. No Pope has ever denied that Jesus is the Christ, no Pope has ever refused to confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and no Pope has ever denied the Incarnation of Christ. None of our Popes has ever even met the basic prerequisites for being the Antichrist. Therefore, none of them could have been it. The Antichrist will be popular. But popularity is not evil by itself since there were times when Jesus was popular when the people wanted to make him their king, and later Jesus became unpopular when they crucified him. And in the Old Testament, Moses was popular at times and unpopular other times.

 

[livingwordunity]

“Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.” - 1 John 2:22

Also, there’s never been a Pope that denied the Father and the Son.

 

[TK421]

Does Catholicism actually teach about there being a distinct “Antichrist” figure?

The one thing that has touched my curiosity on this subject is the almost chilling compatibility of the antichrist in scripture with the Jesus of Islam, who is prophesied in their religion to return someday to speak about himself as a human person, and to either unite Christians with Islam or crush them.

 

[Lasting_faith]

Maybe they don’t know better? Or don’t like Our Holy Father? Go figure.

 

[IvanHR]

I always think of the antichrist as someone connected with the New Age stuff, or “aliens”. That’s just my belief though. I think one day some government (probably US, no offence) will come with “real aliens” and everyone will bow to them, and the antichrist will be among them.

 

[patrick457]

I think it’s ridiculous because won’t the antichrist be someone who nobody suspects? Won’t everyone love the antichrist? So if someone is accused of being the antichrist, then doesn’t that mean they’re not?

I think it’s all due to medieval and Reformation-era polemics. Long story short, many people in those days labelled those whom they did not particularly like and wish to castigate as “the Antichrist.” I mean, Gregory VII in the late 11th century condemned the antipope Clement III as such - while in turn Gregory was himself slandered as such by his opponents. Since the Reformers were of course rebelling against the Church, IMHO it would be natural that they would cast dirt on it by referring to the papacy as the Antichrist. Heck, Martin Luther himself was thought of as being the would-be father of the Antichrist by some of his opponents: there was a popular legend in those days that that Antichrist will be born from a monk and a nun, and guess what? Luther, a former Augustinian monk, married Katharina von Bora, a nun.

 

[Paul_theApostle]

I always think of the antichrist as someone connected with the New Age stuff, or “aliens”. That’s just my belief though. I think one day some government (probably US, no offence) will come with “real aliens” and everyone will bow to them, and the antichrist will be among them.

A Greek guy told me the same years ago…that the antichrist will come/fly down from the sky as an alien

 

[MaryT777]

Lutherans believe the OFFICE OF THE PAPACY is AntiChrist and the Pope in it may or may not be one.

Check out the Concord book.

 

[Celtic_Maiden]

I think the Lutherans are talking about themselves, it was Luther who ran away from his vows and did not get a dispensation from them, ran away with a nun, not by himself, because he could not control his sexual urges, instead of being honest and saying to his Superior Religious Life is not for me I want to get married, but no, he makes up a whole load of lies, pins them to the Church door for everyone to read, imagine having a son like that, he writes all that is wrong with his family on an individual basis and pins it to the gate of the house so all the neighbours can read all about you, one lovely guy after being fed and cared for. Lust was his problem which he would not admit to and of course it was everyone’s fault - not his own- why did he run away with a woman oh yes I forgot to play scrabble with.

 

[JRKH]

What exactly do you mean by “anti-Christ”?

.

Pretty much just what the name says. Anti - “opposite” or “against” Christ.

The term comes from Scripture and “livingwordunity” has given the scriptural references in his post above.

It’s been applied in many ways to many persons and even to offices.
The Anti-Christ is associated with the number 666 which is variously associated with the Roman Emperor Nero, the pope or papal office, Napoleon, Hitler, the USA etc…

If one were to start an internet search of “Anti-Christ” one could quite literally spend weeks or even months sorting through the many theories floating around.

Peace
James

 

[patrick457]

Pretty much just what the name says. Anti - “opposite” or “against” Christ.

Also, “in place of Christ.”

 

[JRKH]

I think it’s ridiculous because won’t the antichrist be someone who nobody suspects? Won’t everyone love the antichrist? So if someone is accused of being the antichrist, then doesn’t that mean they’re not?

In the view of those who hold with such things…they see Scripture as giving the way to identify the Anti-Christ and those who are the elect of God (the remnant?) will recognize the anti-Christ through these clues.
So they do not hold with your view that it will be someone that “nobody suspects”, though they would agree that the vast majority will not suspect him.

Just a thought…

Peace
James

 

[rcwitness]

It seems John, who also wrote Revelations, speaks of the anti-Christ as a spirit that manifests in many people. While Revelations seems to imply an ultimate anti-Christ, it may not be in the future for us, but for the time of persecution.

Either way, since many anti-Christs will arise to lie and deceive, if we are focussed on this, we will not be deceived by any of them. It is harder to overcome the subtle lies to us personally as opposed to some stranger on a big stage. Its like the principle of date rape, or peer pressure. Its not the bad guy that no one likes that will influence us, but our “friends”.

Consider who was an anti-Christ to Jesus…it was Peter at one point. Trying to keep Him from His passion. But of course, Judas became the anti-Christ who ultimately followed the way of the anti-Christ. For he did not allow Jesus to correct him. And then you have the high priests, who were anti-Christs, and Pilate…etc

 

[Least]

Point out the “some people” and I’ll go open a can.

 

[Peebo]

If you want an example of who the Anti-Christ is…just tune into Jimmy Swaggert Ministries…you’ll soon find out that we Catholics are following the Anti-Christ to hell…yup…the Pope…in fact most if not all Protestants teach that the Pope will be the Anti-Christ…just that fundamentalists are more vocal in their condemnation of the Papacy…Pastor Hagee from San Antonio was another who also proclaimed the Catholic church as the “Whore of Babylon”…the President of the Catholic League William Donohue had accuse him of his anti Catholic comments …he had apparently later apologized and said that his views on the Catholic Church had changed…if you scratch deep enough you’ll probably find that all Protestant televangelists hold similar views on the Pope and the Catholic Church…even if they don’t publicly express them.

 

[steido01]

I think the Lutherans are talking about themselves, it was Luther who ran away from his vows and did not get a dispensation from them, ran away with a nun, not by himself, because he could not control his sexual urges, instead of being honest and saying to his Superior Religious Life is not for me I want to get married, but no, he makes up a whole load of lies, pins them to the Church door for everyone to read, imagine having a son like that, he writes all that is wrong with his family on an individual basis and pins it to the gate of the house so all the neighbours can read all about you, one lovely guy after being fed and cared for. Lust was his problem which he would not admit to and of course it was everyone’s fault - not his own- why did he run away with a woman oh yes I forgot to play scrabble with.

Would you please stop your historically inaccurate slander? You literally copied and pasted from your previous post, which was equally as obtuse. My response to the absurdity of your post.

It’s one thing to hold a divisive opinion; it’s another thing entirely to insist on it when historical fact proves otherwise. Mods, help please?

 

[MaryT777]

Would you please stop your historically inaccurate slander? You literally copied and pasted from your previous post, which was equally as obtuse. My response to the absurdity of your post.

It’s one thing to hold a divisive opinion; it’s another thing entirely to insist on it when historical fact proves otherwise. Mods, help please?

Just put the poster on ignore please; it’s easiest.

 

[livingwordunity]

Does Catholicism actually teach about there being a distinct “Antichrist” figure?

Although the Catechism of the Catholic Church doesn’t state directly that the End Times Antichrist will be a man, and there have been many small “a” antichrists in history, the Church also teaches about the big “A” Antichrist who is (or will be) a man and who is the last of the antichrists. Below are a couple of quotes to show this along with the part of the Catechism that deals with the subject:

The continuation of this text announces that before the Lord’s arrival there will be apostasy, and one well described as the “man of lawlessness”, “the son of perdition” (2: 3) must be revealed, who tradition would come to call the Antichrist. - Benedict XVI, General Audience at St. Peter’s Square 12 November 2008

When all this is considered there is good reason to fear lest this great perversity may be as it were a foretaste, and perhaps the beginning of those evils which are reserved for the last days; and that there may be already in the world the “Son of Perdition” of whom the Apostle speaks (II. Thess. ii., 3). Such, in truth, is the audacity and the wrath employed everywhere in persecuting religion, in combating the dogmas of the faith, in brazen effort to uproot and destroy all relations between man and the Divinity! While, on the other hand, and this according to the same apostle is the distinguishing mark of Antichrist, man has with infinite temerity put himself in the place of God, raising himself above all that is called God; in such wise that although he cannot utterly extinguish in himself all knowledge of God, he has contemned God’s majesty and, as it were, made of the universe a temple wherein he himself is to be adored. “He sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God” (II. Thess. ii., 2). - Pius X, E Supremi

The Church’s ultimate trial (Catechism of the Catholic Church)

675 Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the “mystery of iniquity” in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.

676 The Antichrist’s deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the “intrinsically perverse” political form of a secular messianism.

677 The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God’s victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. God’s triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgment after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.

 

[MaryT777]

livingwordunity:
Thanks for posting the pertinent CCC references.
Mary.