The stark “Last Judgment” takes up much of the rear wall behind the Sistine Chapel’s high altar and shows a stern Christ judging the righteous and sinners alike. That is the place where on 3-13-13, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Buenos Aires was elected Pope. Pope Francis I would later jokingly make a toast to his colleagues saying, “May God forgive you for what you have done.”

Nearly 900 years have elapsed since Saint Malachy predicted the arrival of the last Pope as stated in his Prophecy of the Popes, a list of verses describing each successive Pope from Pope Celestine II to the final 112th Pope, whom we now know is Pope Francis, whom Malachy described as ”Petrus Romanus” or “Peter the Roman.” Eerily, the prophecy describes the Catholic church’s last pontiff as overseeing a new era that will be met with great difficulty and destruction. “In extreme persecution the seat of the Holy Roman Church will be occupied by Peter the Roman…” “Who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the terrible or fearsome judge will judge his people.” If the predictions of Malachy are truly at their culmination, then the second beast, the one from the earth who is called the false prophet or Petrus Romanus will lead the world to worship the dragon as is illustrated in ( Rev. 16:13, 19:20, and 20:10)

Pope Francis is the first ever Jesuit Pope. The Jesuit order was specifically formed to combat the protestant reformation and assert papal supremacy over the entire world.  It is interesting to note that Cardinal Bergoglio’s coat of arms while Bishop of Buenos Aires bore the Jesuit “solar” deity symbol, yet left out the cross, which should have been included, as seen in the illustration at this link.

Pope Francis chose his name to honor Francis of Assisi “a Saint that transcends the Catholic Church,” and who although was never ordained as a priest, was canonized for his work with the poor. Shortly before his death, Francis of Assisi prophesied that “At the time of this tribulation a man, not canonically elected, will be raised to the Pontificate, who, by his cunning, will endeavor to draw many into error and death…Some preachers will keep silence about the truth, and others will trample it underfoot and deny it…for in those days Jesus Christ will send them not a true Pastor, but a destroyer.” Was there something not canonical about the election of Pope Francis? Pope Benedict simply retired, the fifteen day rule between vacancy of the office and the start of the conclave was circumvented to speed up the process, and now we have two living Popes, which alone makes for an unusual, not canonically sound scenario!

As many are aware, the number thirteen has always been a number of ill-omen, causing many buildings to exclude a 13th floor. Strangely, the numbers surrounding Pope Francis’ election keep coming up thirteen. White smoke at 7:06 PM which in numerology 7 + 6 = 13 and he is 76 years old 7 + 6 = 13 and then he was elected on the calendar date 3/13/13  which sports two 13s of its own but in numerology 3/13/2013 also yields 3+1+3+2+0+1+3=13 and he was announced at precisely 8:13 PM Vatican time or in military and European time 20:13 making for 3/13/2013 at 20:13.

Even more interesting is to go back in the Bible to the first occurrence of the number thirteen as seen in Genesis 14:4, which says, “ For twelve years they had been the subject of Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. Hence, every occurrence of the number thirteen and every multiple of it stands for rebellion, apostasy, defection, corruption, disintegration, revolution, or some kindred idea. Is it a coincidence that Revelation 13:11 says; “And I beheld another beast coming out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.” According to some, this symbolizes religious power in the service of secular authorities. According to others, he is the false prophet who attempts to appear gentle and harmless but is a ravenous wolf who comes in sheep’s clothing.

There have been many prophecies that all seem to come to the same conclusion; material and spiritual catastrophe. All these visions include a great apostasy in the Church and then a cataclysmic event that chastises the entire world. The following report at this link details many of these other prophecies.

But, let’s set aside prophetic messages and numerology for a moment and examine the actions of Pope Francis, for actions speak louder than words.

Six months into his papacy, Pope Francis sent shock waves through the Roman Catholic church with the publication of his remarks that the church had grown “obsessed” with abortion, gay marriage and contraception and criticized the church for putting dogma before love and for prioritizing moral doctrines over serving the poor and marginalized. He articulated his vision of an inclusive church, “a home for all.” Pope Francis continues to be very clear about how he feels about ideological purity in religion and as been especially critical of right-wing Christian fundamentalism, calling it an illness.

The Jesuit order promotes “faith that promotes justice,” social justice. Although that term cannot be found in the Bible, their idea is that all people should have the same political, social, economic, and civil rights. Used as an economic doctrine, “egalitarianism” is the driving force behind communism and socialism, resulting in the redistribution of wealth. In April, the Pope tweeted, “inequality is the root of social evil.” Is inequality the root of social evil? The Bible makes it quite clear that sin is the root of all evil in the world as seen in ( Romans 5:12, and James 1:15) Pope Francis further emphasized his stance on “inequality” by calling for the United Nations to promote “a worldwide ethical mobilization” through the “legitimate redistribution of economic benefits by the state, as well as indispensable cooperation between the private sector and civil society.”

Jesus prescribed justice from a ‘love thy neighbor’ charitable standpoint. Charity was never meant to be a political directive but instead a voluntary heartfelt act of good will, a Christian moral duty. The Bible tells us that if man does not work, he ought not to eat. Everyone has a responsibility to work with their own hands and to produce something good in order to have something to give to those in need. If charity becomes an “enforced” event, it is no longer “an act of free will.” God said it best;  “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) Most Americans, when giving to the government.. do not give with a cheerful heart!

Last week the pope received a letter from a group of priests girlfriends who pleaded with the Pope to strike down rules prohibiting priests from marriage and sex. His answer,” Priestly celibacy “is not a dogma of faith; it is a rule of life that I appreciate a great deal, and I believe it is a gift from the Church. The door is always open, given that it is not a dogma of faith.”

In an open letter to atheist Eugenio Scalfari in September 2013, the pontiff wrote; “I would not speak about ‘absolute’ truths even for believers….truth is a relationship. As  such, each one of us receives the truth and expresses it from within, that is to say, according to one’s own circumstances, culture, and situation in life.” “So we grow in the understanding of truth…there are ecclesiastical rules and precepts that were once effective, but now they have lost value or meaning. The view of the Church’s teaching as a monolith to defend without nuance or different understandings is wrong.”

Truth is important to Jesus Christ. The truth is depicted in Michelangelo’s Last Judgement that illustrates the second coming of Christ and the apocalypse. The souls of humanity rise and descend to their fates as judged by Christ and his saintly entourage. We can only pray as Christians that faith and the Bible’s truth will be our guide, and that Christ will gather us up on his right side, separate from those gathered on his left who are damned and have been sentenced to hell.

Psalm 1:

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,

but whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on his law day and night.

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.