The diplomatic recognition of the “state of Palestine” by the Vatican will open the door to a new wave of anti-Semitism and endanger millions of Israeli Jews and Arabs, charge several leading evangelicals who have written about the end times.
And the controversial decision by Pope Francis is even leading to allegations the Roman Catholic Church will be an adversary to Christians and the state of Israel during those times.
New York Times bestselling author and filmmaker Joel Richardson slammed the decision as “an act of profound hatred toward the Jewish people globally.”
In an interview with WND, the author of “When a Jew Rules the World: What the Bible Really Says About Israel in the Plan of God,” observed: “To the uninformed, from the outside, recognizing ‘Palestine’ might seem to be reasonable. Certainly, the God of Heaven loves the Palestinian people as much as the Jew.
“But not to those who have a better grasp of the various political, religious and security related realities on the ground. None who are informed will deny that the establishment of a Palestinian state will compromise the security of the millions of Israeli Jews and Arabs in a profound way.”
Richardson explained the Israeli situation is akin to living next to a large family made up of many people who openly declare their intention to take your property and kill your children.
“Due to the very genuine threat that your neighbors represent to you and your children, you see to it that they are not able to attain the weapons and strategy necessary to carry out their evil plans. Now imagine if the local Roman Catholic priest, all in the name of ‘justice,’ ‘compassion’ and ‘fairness,’ forced you to allow these neighbors to have their own weapons. Such would be a profoundly hateful act toward you and your family. In fact, it would be an act of violence,” Richardson said.
“To support a Palestinian state without demanding that they first unequivocally renounce and repent of their plans for the Jewish people is to have a hand in the violence that follows,” he said. “Today the Catholic Church has committed an act deeply grievous to the God it claims to represent.”
Talk-show host, pastor and author Carl Gallups agrees that the impact of the Vatican’s decision will be catastrophic. However, the author of “Final Warning: Understanding the Trumpet Days of Revelation” says he isn’t surprised.
Gallups told WND: “This really should come as no huge shock to the world, especially to the Christian world, because this pope has made similar statements supporting the Palestinian cause. As far as I know, this is the first time he’s called for a Palestinian state explicitly, however. And this is disturbing prophetically and geopolitically, because it will fuel the current wave of anti-Semitism that is sweeping the globe.
“It is important to remember there has never been a nation state in that area except Israel. So some kind of ‘Palestinian nation’ is only going to be used to fuel this fire by the leftists and godless who are mobilized by hatred of Israel and Jews. Though I’m an evangelical, I find it so tragic that this statement is coming from the pope, who so many believe should be a bastion of Christianity. But this pope is a leftist theologically speaking and politically speaking,” he said.
What do YOU think? Sound off on the Vatican’s recognition of state of Palestine
Gallups says the foreign-policy stance of the Vatican may presage deep divisions between the Roman Catholic Church and evangelical Christians.
“This decision gives credence to the theory of many evangelicals that the church is foretold in Revelation as the Harlot and will be given over to apostasy,” he said. “It’s very disturbing but not completely shocking coming from this pope and at this time in history. Again, we are living in prophetic times.
“My greatest concern is that it is going to stroke the fires of anti-Semitism, possibly even cause the U.N. and the United States to call for the formation of a specific Palestinian state. They may call Israel an occupier, an interloper and a terrorist state. I don’t see anything positive coming out of this.
“Strictly politically, you want to say, ‘What is this pope thinking?’ But if you take a breath and step back, you see this is what this pope has always believed. Perhaps, it is even what he was always meant to do prophetically.”
Tom Horn, featured commentator on the “The Last Pope” DVD produced by WND and an expert on prophecies regarding the Roman Catholic Church, told WND the church has always had its own plans for Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
Horn says the Vatican has never intended for Jerusalem to belong to one state. As outlined in his book, “Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope Is Here,” co-authored with Cris Putnam, Horn alleges: “Rome ostensibly pleads the case of Palestinians and Catholics who want to make pilgrimage, but in truth, there is a wealth of evidence that the Vatican wants to possess Jerusalem as its own. Even more, there are high-level Jewish officials waiting in the wings to hand it over.”
Whatever the Vatican’s intentions, pastor Mark Biltz, discoverer of the “Blood Moons” phenomenon and author of “Blood Moons: Decoding the Imminent Heavenly Signs,” says only disaster can follow the division of Jewish land implied by the recognition of a Palestinian state. He points to Joel 3, which warns against those who “scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.”
But Richardson believes the Vatican’s actions have to be interpreted in the larger context of anti-Jewish activities by the Roman Catholic Church and other self-described Christians throughout history.
And while he draws a distinction between individual Catholics and the institution, the author of the New York Times bestseller “The Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth About the Real Nature of the Beast” calls on believers to defy the pope.
Richardson told WND: “Now, I want to be clear, I fully understand that there are millions of wonderful God-fearing Catholics around the world who love both the Jewish and the Arab peoples in the land, and who fully support Israel, her right to exist and defend herself. But today, all Catholics of conscience across the earth must decry the actions of their spiritual leaders.
“Throughout history, the Roman Catholic Church has persecuted the Jewish people in ways unimaginable,” he said. “So it was wonderful step forward last century, when they officially repented of their historical sins toward the Jewish people.”
Richard said that in recognizing Palestine as its own state, the Catholic Church “has capitulated to the spirit of the age, has turned their back on the God of Israel, and has stumbled headlong into the darkness.”
I was raised RC. The whole rotten thing should fall over and crumble.
The Vatican is a political animal. I understand its trying to curry favors with the Arabs but its double-crossing over Israel is a cynical new low for it.