>>> Continued from previous message

>SA>People close to the Pope claim that amid these concerns, the Pontiff
>SA>wishes he was younger and in better health to confront the possibility
>SA>that Bush may represent the person prophesized in Revelations. John
>SA>Paul II has always believed the world was on the precipice of the final
>SA>confrontation between Good and Evil as foretold in the New Testament.

>LL>In terms of Catholic theology, there have been many
"antichrists",
>LL>as there will continue to be in times future.  However, St.
>LL>Augustine did write about an Antichrist - something few Catholic
>LL>theologians like to highlight.

>SA>Before he became Pope, Karol Cardinal Wojtyla said, "We are
now standing
>SA>in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone
>SA>through. I do not think that wide circles of the American society or wide
>SA>circles of the Christian community realize this fully. We are now facing
>SA>the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the
>SA>Gospel versus the anti- Gospel."

>LL>John Paul II has used terms such as the "culture of life" versus
>LL>the "culture of death" as a means of highlighting
gospel values and
>LL>what the Church stands for.

>SA>The Pope, who grew up facing the evils of Hitler and Stalin, knows evil
>SA>when he sees it. Although we can all endlessly argue over the Pope's
>SA>effectiveness in curtailing abuses within his Church, his accomplishments
>SA>external to Catholicism are impressive.

>LL>True.  JP is not perfect by any means, but has reached out to
>LL>non-Catholics and non-Christians, hoping to help make the world a
>LL>better place for all.

SA>Yes, and he steadfastly refused to endorse the US's invasion plan for
SA>Iraq, as he could not see it as being a "just" war. Will the US seek
SA>to bring about "regime change" in the Vatican? :)

I'm sure Bush has a contingency plan, just in case the pope has WMD.  :)

>SA>=====================================================================

>SA>Personally, while I have some suspicions that Bush might prove to be
>SA>the Beast, I also suspect that he is being "set up" to
take the rap
>SA>for someone even more sinister, such as the [permanent] President of
>SA>Europe when that position is created.

>LL>There are actually *two* Beasts depicted in Revelation - an Earth
>LL>Beast and a Sea Beast.  Maybe Bush is one Beast and Blair the other
>LL>Beast?

SA>Yes, there are. The first is normally referred to as the Antichrist, the
SA>second as the False Prophet. AFAIK, when someone claims to be the Messiah,
SA>the Jews also need an accompanying Prophet to attest to his authenticity,
SA>much as John the Baptist pointed to Jesus Christ.

Jewish theology is rather wacky.  Muhammad had to use that theology to
justify himself as being the "messenger", or last Jewish prophet.

SA>Just as the Pope is often described, with extensive documentation, to be
SA>the Antichrist, I'm not convinced, as whoever it is will need to be
SA>accepted by the Jews as their Messiah. I can't see them accepting a Pope
SA>anytime soon.

The Jewish concept of messiah is much different than the Christian
concept of messiah.  For example, the Jewish concept of messiah is that
of a human being who lives and dies, there being no resurrection.

SA>Much the same with Bush. He would need to be willing to abandon the White
SA>House and rule from Jerusalem. Possible? Yes. Likely? For now, although
SA>Bush apparently believes that God is driving him in his attempts to deal
SA>with evil, terrorism, WMD etc etc... I doubt he would leave the White
SA>House for Jerusalem [?]. Bush / Blair are certainly displaying aspects of
SA>the two beasts, and if they take a crack at France [and Germany / Belgium]
SA>I'd certainly consider them as likely suspects!

Bush could set up a temple in Jerusalem where he can beam himself down
from time to time in order to meet with world leaders.  The White House
would still be where it is today, and Bush would still govern America
from the White House.  But from the temple Bush could rule the world...

SA>Although it doesn't seem likely, based on the US's excellence in almost
SA>everything - economic, political, military etc, I still feel that the
SA>wheels will fall off much like the Soviet Union, leaving the way open
SA>for Pax Europa rather than Pax Americana.

It is hard to imagine America losing its place in world leadership
to that of Europe.  America has an aging population, but Europe has a
population that is aging even faster.  The growth areas are in Latin
America and in Asia.  And that makes China the world's future
superpower.

SA>Interesting times.

"May you live in interesting times." - Mao Tse-Tung

--Lee


 * SLMR 2.1a * Spam: The triumph of technology over taste.
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5