Tag Archives: last time a pope resigned

The world without doubt, draws to an end.

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There is so much happening in the word today prophetically, that like Ridley, i must say “The world without doubt—this I do believe, and therefore I say it—draws to an end. ” {GC 303.3}

“…Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” (Revelation 18:2)  God is allowing many things to come to light so that Babylon (Rome) can be exposed, because very soon we will have to make the ultimate decision, whether we will follow Christ, or Satan, Whether we will receive the seal of God or the mark of the beast.  Below is part of an online news article.

It is a week when the Catholic Church hoped to look forward, as the College of Cardinals prepares to elect a new pope.

But, instead the church finds itself confronting ghosts of the past.

A British cardinal has resigned amid allegations of inappropriate relationships with priests.

Italian papers are filled with reports of sexual escapades inside the Vatican itself.

And now word that a U.S. cardinal accused of hiding sexual abuse by priests will be among those choosing the new pope, which has many wondering if the Catholic Church is once again turning a blind eye to its own failings.

All this and more is happening in a religious institution, that sees itself as the moral authority on earth, as being infallible, as being Christ representative on earth.  Brothers and sisters, if you are a Catholic and you truly love the Lord, the Bible says:

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” (Revelation 18:4-5)

This scripture points forward to a time when the announcement of the fall of Babylon, as made by the second angel of Revelation 14 (verse 8), is to be repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been entering the various organizations that constitute Babylon, since that message was first given, in the summer of 1844. A terrible condition of the religious world is here described. With every rejection of truth the minds of the people will become darker, their hearts more stubborn, until they are entrenched in an infidel hardihood. In defiance of the warnings which God has given, they will continue to trample upon one of the precepts of the Decalogue, until they are led to persecute those who hold it sacred. Christ is set at nought in the contempt placed upon His word and His people. As the teachings of spiritualism are accepted by the churches, the restraint imposed upon the carnal heart is removed, and the profession of religion will become a cloak to conceal the basest iniquity. A belief in spiritual manifestations opens the door to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, and thus the influence of evil angels will be felt in the churches. – {GC 603.2}
Of Babylon, at the time brought to view in this prophecy, it is declared: “Her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” Revelation 18:5. She has filled up the measure of her guilt, and destruction is about to fall upon her. But God still has a people in Babylon; and before the visitation of His judgments these faithful ones must be called out, that they partake not of her sins and “receive not of her plagues.” Hence the movement symbolized by the angel coming down from heaven, lightening the earth with his glory and crying mightily with a strong voice, announcing the sins of Babylon. In connection with his message the call is heard: “Come out of her, My people.” These announcements, uniting with the third angel’s message, constitute the final warning to be given to the inhabitants of the earth. – {GC 604.1} – GC 603-604

Christians awake, the end is near, “…the world is on the verge of a stupendous crisis.”(Ed 179.5) “Christians should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise, and this preparation they should make by diligently studying the word of God and striving to conform their lives to its precepts.” – {Mar 68.7} – Mar 68.1-7

The last time a pope resigned

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I read an interesting article on the history of the last pope that resigned. It is interesting in that it gives us an insight as to why this current pope is resigning. “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, This is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. (Ecc. 1:9&10) Below is the ariticle from the Dailymail:

Pope Gregory XII was the last pope to resign, standing down in 1415.

His resignation ended the Western Schism – a split within the Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417 which saw two rival popes claiming to be in office: one based in Avignon, France; the other in Rome.

The dilemma of papal allegiance arose following the death of Gregory XI, an Avignon Pope, in 1378.

When the College of Cardinals met to vote for a new pope, a Roman mob broke into the voting chamber and forced the election of an Italian pope – Urban VI.

Unhappy with being cornered, some cardinals returned to Avignon where they elected Clement VII as the pope.

This forced followers in Europe to choose loyalty towards either Avignon or Rome.

Until 1409, there were two popes simultaneously, although the Avignon Popes (Clement VII and then Benedict XIII) were seen as antipopes – in other words, those in opposition to the one generally viewed as the legitimate pope.

The Roman popes were Urban VI, Boniface IX, Innocent VII and Gregory XII.

Cardinals allied to Gregory XII and Benedict XIII decided to try and resolve the situation by getting the pope and antipope to meet and make an agreement.

However, at the last minute they pulled out and it was decided at a church council in Pisa that they would elect another pope – Alexander V.

He died in 1410 shortly after being elected and was succeeded by John XXIII.

To resolve the situation the Council of Constance managed to get Pope Gregory and Antipope John to resign so a new election could take place.

As he refused to step down, Avignon Pope Benedict XIII was excommunicated and his successor, Antipope Clement VIII resigned in 1429 in recognition of the Roman Pope Martin V’s legitimacy to the papal throne.

The only others to resign are Marcellinus, who abdicated or was deposed in 304 after complying with the Roman emperor’s order to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods; Benedict IX, who sold the papacy to his godfather Gregory VI and resigned in 1045; and Celestine V, who stepped down after five months as pope in 1294.

Certain things jump out at you from this historic account, there was a split in the church, two rival popes and the name Benedict XIII (Who refused to step down and was excommunicated).

Now back to our day, read this article from wikipedia:

The Vatileaks scandal[1][2][3] is a scandal involving leaked Vatican documents, allegedly exposing corruption. The scandal first came to light in late January 2012 in a television programme aired in Italy under the name of The Untouchables (Gli intoccabili). Further information was released when Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi published letters from Carlo Maria Viganò, formerly the second ranked Vatican administrator to the pope, in which he begged not to be transferred for having exposed alleged corruption that cost the Holy See millions in higher contract prices. Viganò is now the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.

Over the following months the situation widened as documents were leaked to Italian journalists, uncovering power struggles inside the Vatican over its efforts to show greater financial transparency and comply with international norms to fight money laundering. Also in early 2012, an anonymous letter made the headlines for its warning of a death threat against Pope Benedict XVI.[2] The scandal escalated in May 2012 when Nuzzi published a book entitled His Holiness: The Secret Papers of Benedict XVI consisting of confidential letters and memos between Pope Benedict and his personal secretary,[4] a controversial book that portrays the Vatican as a hotbed of jealousy, intrigue and underhanded factional fighting.[5] The book reveals details about the Pope’s personal finances, and includes tales of bribes made to procure an audience with him.[6]

And from the inspired word of God we can gain an insight as to what is really happening in the Vatican and what God is about to do.

God’s providence still further overruled events to give opportunity for the growth of the Reformation. The death of Gregory was followed by the election of two rival popes. Two conflicting powers, each professedly infallible, now claimed obedience. (See Appendix notes for pages 50 and 85.) Each called upon the faithful to assist him in making war upon the other, enforcing his demands by terrible anathemas against his adversaries, and promises of rewards in heaven to his supporters. This occurrence greatly weakened the power of the papacy. The rival factions had all they could do to attack each other, and Wycliffe for a time had rest. Anathemas and recriminations were flying from pope to pope, and torrents of blood were poured out to support their conflicting claims. Crimes and scandals flooded the church. Meanwhile the Reformer, in the quiet retirement of his parish of Lutterworth, was laboring diligently to point men from the contending popes to Jesus, the Prince of Peace. – {GC 86.2}
The schism, with all the strife and corruption which it caused, prepared the way for the Reformation by enabling the people to see what the papacy really was. In a tract which he published, On the Schism of the Popes, Wycliffe called upon the people to consider whether these two priests were not speaking the truth in condemning each other as the antichrist. “God,” said he, “would no longer suffer the fiend to reign in only one such priest, but … made division among two, so that men, in Christ’s name, may the more easily overcome them both.”—R. Vaughan, Life and Opinions of John de Wycliffe, vol. 2, p. 6. – {GC 86.3}