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The Death of John Paul II A House Divided And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.—Mark 3:25 Carl Hagensick The death of Pope John Paul II, while not unexpected, marked the end of one of the most dynamic periods of Papal history. Karol Wojtyla was the first non-Italian pope since the Dutch-German pope Adrian VI (1522-1523). His tenure of nearly twenty-seven years was only surpassed by the thirty-one-year reign of Pius IX (1846-1878). A World-Wide Ministry No pope traveled more than John Paul whose hundred-plus pilgrimages totaling 725,000 miles reached nearly every country of the earth. The audiences for his messages were huge, including a crowd of 4.5 million in Manila, Philippines, on January 15, 1995. His frequent trips to his native Poland were instrumental in the collapse of communism, largely through his support of the Solidarity movement. Mikhail Gorbachev claimed that the fall of the Russian communist system would have been impossible without him. Critics felt that his meetings with such right-wing dictators as Augusto Pinochet of Chile, and his canonization of Josemaria Escriva of the conservative Opus Dei organization implied that he had become politically involved with extremist anti-Marxist activists. These feelings, augmented with his strong stance against the 2003 Iraq war, were just as likely to be an outgrowth of his pacifist beliefs. His Doctrines John Paul was noted for stressing his devotion to Mary, making pilgrimages to her shrines in the Virgin Islands, Knock in Ireland, Fatima in Portugal, Guadalupe in Mexico, and Lourdes in France. His beliefs in the traditional doctrines of the church were affirmed in The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Apostolic Constitution. His first epistle focused on the doctrine of the Triune God. The background of his teachings are found in his eight books on philosophy, as well as two stage plays, later produced as movies. In addition he published two volumes of his poetry. His pacifist beliefs were indicated in the poem The Munitions Worker that ends with these words:
Ecumenism Although a strict traditionalist on Catholic dogma, nevertheless John Paul often made contact with other religions, seeking common ground. He had a conference with such diverse leaders as the Dalai Lama and Queen Elizabeth II, the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. On a trip to Egypt in 2000 he met with the Coptic Pope and the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria. He offered prayers both at an Islamic mosque in Damascus and at the Jewish Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. He also was the first pope to visit the Auschwitz concentration camp, the Yad Vashem memorial to the holocaust, and the Jewish synagogue of Rome. Perhaps his most diligent ecumenical efforts were directed to the Eastern Orthodox churches. For the first time since the Great Schism of 1054 a pope traveled to an Eastern Orthodox country when in 1999 John Paul traveled to Romania. He also visited other eastern countries including Ukraine, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. His Apologies One of the most remarkable accomplishments of his papacy was the recognition and apology for over a hundred wrongs committed by the Roman Catholic Church. These included:
Many Roman Catholics, both individuals and organizations, renounced these apologies. Bishop William Richardson of St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary wrote: “Where would John Paul II himself be if Catholic missionaries had never gone into pagan Poland those many years ago and destroyed its idolatry” (Letter to Friends and Benefactors). A Church Divided Both John Paul and his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, have taken strong stands on moral issues. They both have steadfastly spoken against homosexual marriages, abortion, and euthanasia. John Paul took a pacifist position on warfare and capital punishment and wrote in favor of debt forgiveness and other poverty issues. These positions have been largely ignored by the American and European laity, though popular among Catholics in southeast Asia and South America. Another divisive issue has been the slow pace of the church to address officially the widespread sexual scandals involving pedophilia, that continues to cost the church countless millions of dollars. The settlements and associated legal expenses, augmented by low church attendance, have been partially responsible for the closing of hundreds of churches and schools. Church attendance in Europe has decreased markedly and barely held even in the United States, while growing steadily in Africa and South America. These decreasing numbers have also led to decreased candidates for the priesthood and correspondingly smaller attendance at theological seminaries. A Scriptural Look at the Past As the late pope’s numerous apologies indicate, there is much in Papacy’s past for which to repent and seek forgiveness. The inquisitions, the papal scandals and immoralities, the strident anti-Semitism, the utilization of secular governments to carry out the destruction of their foes, the Crusades, and the burnings at the stake, are only the tip of the iceberg in describing her many sins. Well did the Revelator say, “And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth” (Revelation 18:24). In the Bible the name “Babylon” is often used in a metaphorical sense. In New Testament times Jews and Christians alike applied it to the city of Rome (see the Sybilline Oracles 5 143). This seemed particularly appropriate at that time, because of the descriptive phrases used to describe the city which was home to the great power of Imperial Rome.
As time progressed, and especially since the Reformation, many Protestant scholars have applied these words to the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. Certainly these same descriptive elements fit the Papacy as well as or even better than they fit Imperial Rome. From the days of Constantine until the time of Napoleon the Roman Catholic Church has united itself with the kings of the earth. While claiming to be the bride of Christ, it has itself joined to others. The Scriptures designate this as fornication: “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication” (Revelation 14:8). In describing this phenomenon, the Revelator further writes: “And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF EARTH” (Revelation 17:5). The word “mystery” in this title implies a symbolic and hidden meaning, suggesting it is figurative language. The abominations of this symbolic Babylon were infectious, corrupting all with whom it came in contact. This was the Lord’s tool to show man his own weaknesses. “Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad” (Jeremiah 51:7). This same cup is further described in Revelation 17:4, “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.” This picture is based on a prophecy regarding the literal Babylon of Old Testament times: “For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them” (Jeremiah 25:15,16). Then, after listing some twenty nations, he adds: “Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink” (Jeremiah 25:27,28). A Scriptural Look at the Present In a parable about wheat and tares found in Matthew 13:24-30, false Christians (tares) are permitted to develop side by side with true Christians (wheat). Only in the “time of harvest” would they be separated. We are now in that harvest period and that separating work has been in progress for over a hundred years. As literal Babylon had held the Jewish people captive for a time, so symbolic Babylon has been home to many true Christians over the past twenty centuries. But this great system has also become the “habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird” (Revelation 18:2). Just as God had called his people back to Jerusalem after their captivity, so there would be a time when God calls his spiritual people home. That time is now. Now the call is “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4). In another picture, this false system is called the “church of Laodicea” (Revelation 3:14). For centuries this system had served as God’s spokesman on earth. But now, he says, “I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). As a result of her unfaithfulness, God, through the Revelator, has decreed a punishment of seven plagues to bring down this great system. These are detailed in Revelation 16. Most Bible Students have concluded that these plagues have already begun, but there are varying opinions as to the specific application of each of them. All do agree that the net result is the final removal of the great systems that have so dominated the world for over 2,000 years, and have been “weighed in the balances, and art found wanting” (Daniel 5:27). For two alternative viewpoints see the articles A Foundation for Understanding Prophecy and Heads and Horns in the July/August 2005 issue of The Herald. Here is a third opinion:
The final fall of Babylon is depicted in full detail in Revelation 19 and in abbreviated form in Revelation 18:21, “And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.” Many Bible Students see an implication in the fact that the angel “took up” the stone before casting it down, an indication that the great ecclesiastical system here pictured may have a brief resurgence of power before its final demise. A Scriptural Look at the Future What comes next? Although it is always difficult to prophesy the future with precise accuracy, there is an interesting concept presented in the final verses of Isaiah 23. There these same systems are pictured under the figure of the city of Tyre. The prophet predicts that these organizations shall fall into an eclipse of power for a period of seventy years, after which it shall return to its former ways, described as “fornication.” Then follows a graphic description of its destruction: “And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing” (Isaiah 23:17,18). The suggestion in this verse is that the accumulated wealth of spiritual Tyre will not be destroyed but, rather, be converted for the advantage of the common good: “I will shake all nations; and the precious things of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, saith Jehovah of hosts” (Haggai 2:7, ASV). The same concept is indicated, though less specifically, in Zechariah 14:14. The religious system to follow the destruction of present institutions will be a true theocracy. It will need no pope or bishop at its head, nor any great church buildings, for there shall be “no temple therein: for the Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb are the temple thereof ” (Revelation 21:22). The religion of that time will be truly catholic (universal), for the willing of all nations and denominations will be a part of it, regardless if in their past they were Catholic or Protestant, Jewish or Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or pagan. Then there will be one church and all who then believe can worship the one true God throughout life everlasting. |
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