In the book of Revelation we read, 

“I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons (i.e. insanity), performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Rev. 16:13

Who is this false prophet that speaks forth the unclean frog-like teachings of demons or insanity? We are introduced to this false prophet as the “man of sin” in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 as he:

“who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie…” (verses 4-11).

Here we have a man who acts like a god, and is part of a system that goes back to the time the apostle Paul gave this warning and is to continue until the Lord comes. He is known for signs, lying wonders and unrighteous deception. He looks like a false prophet, and he sounds like a false prophet! It is the Bishop of Rome that occupies this seat and who claims to transfer the wafer into the body of Christ through transubstantiation.

Based on these and other scriptures, we understand and expect that the Vatican will be a strong voice for the democratic forces that arose in the French Revolution two hundred years before Pope John Paul II worked with Ronald Reagan to bring about the fall of communism is Poland.

TIME February 24, 1992

In a special investigative report in TIME (February 24, 1992) a few years after these events under the headline “The Holy Alliance”, Carl Bernstein described how, “faced with a military crackdown in Poland, Ronald Reagan and John Paul II secretly joined forces to keep the [predominantly Catholic] Solidarity union alive [in Poland]. They hoped not only to pressure Warsaw but to free all of Eastern Europe.” So it was, that in their first meeting on June 7, 1982,

“Reagan and the Pope agreed to undertake a clandestine campaign to hasten the dissolution of the communist empire. Declares Richard Allen, Reagan’s first National Security Adviser: ‘This was one of the great secret alliances of all time.’

The operation was focused on Poland, the most populous of the Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe and the birthplace of John Paul II. Both the Pope and the President were convinced that Poland could be broken out of the Soviet orbit if the Vatican and the U.S. committed their resources to destabilizing the Polish government and keeping the outlawed Solidarity movement alive after the declaration of martial law in 1981.

Until Solidarity's legal status was restored in 1989 it flourished underground, supplied, nurtured and advised largely by the network established under the auspices of Reagan and John Paul II. Tons of equipment—fax machines (the first in Poland), printing presses, transmitters, telephones, shortwave radios, video cameras, photocopiers, telex machines, computers, word processors—were smuggled into Poland via channels established by priests and American agents and representatives of the AFL-CIO and European labor movements. Money for the banned union came from CIA funds, the National Endowment for Democracy, secret accounts in the Vatican and Western trade unions.

Lech Walesa and other leaders of Solidarity received strategic advice—often conveyed by priests or American and European labor experts working undercover in Poland—that reflected the thinking of the Vatican and the Reagan Administration. As the effectiveness of the resistance grew, the stream of information to the West about the internal decisions of the Polish government and the contents of Warsaw's communications with Moscow became a flood. The details came not only from priests but also from spies within the Polish government.”

This reveals the power and influence of the Holy See working both openly and behind the scenes through its networks of priests using its secret bank accounts to bring down a government and promote its interests in Eastern Europe. These are the characteristics of the little horn that arose on Daniel’s fourth Roman beast described in chapter 7 of his prophecy:

“I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things” (verse 8).

Commenting on the Vatican’s intelligence during a crackdown on Solidarity in December 1981, Bernstein records that it was better and quicker than what the US had with the CIA:

“According to U.S. intelligence sources, the Pope had already advised Walesa through church channels to keep his movement operating underground… Because the communists had cut the direct phone lines between Poland and the Vatican, John Paul II communicated with Jozef Cardinal Glemp in Warsaw via radio. He also dispatched his envoys to Poland to report on the situation. ‘The Vatican's information was absolutely better and quicker than ours in every respect,’ says” Alexander Haig Secretary of State.

This was all done in Poland in such a way that the involvement of the Pope and the CIA was not known. ‘…What they had to do was let the natural forces already in place play this out and not get their fingerprints on it,’ explained an analyst.
In addition to providing intelligence and receiving American diplomats, the Vatican was also dispatching Archbishop Laghi to Washington to meet with William Casey, CIA chief and one of the “key Administration players” who “were all devout Roman Catholics”. It was noted that:

“On at least six occasions Laghi came to the White House and met with Clark or the President; each time, he entered the White House through the southwest gate in order to avoid reporters. ‘By keeping in such close touch, we did not cross lines,’ says Laghi. ‘My role was primarily to facilitate meetings between Walters and the Holy Father. The Holy Father knew his people. It was a very complex situation—how to insist on human rights, on religious freedom, and keep Solidarity alive without provoking the communist authorities further. But I told Vernon, ‘Listen to the Holy Father. We have 2,000 years' experience at this.’”

What other system is there, like this “man of sin”, that can claim to have 2,000 years’ experience influencing the kings of the earth? Revelation 17 describes this system as a woman who “is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth” (Ch. 17:18).

Not long ago on this program (Oct. 26, 2019), Paul Billington referenced the Vatican’s position on Brexit (where we expect that the Holy See is yet again working behind the scenes) and referenced the April 2019 Bible Magazine feature on “The Vatican’s Covert War on the protestant Throne”. Having seen what has happened in Poland and the Soviet Union, we understand what to expect in Britain, Israel and elsewhere. Revelation 16 warns us, that it will be the three frog spirits of liberty, equality and fraternity emanating from the Russian dragon in the east, the European beast in the west and the Roman false prophet working miracles, that will ultimately “go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Ch. 16:14). But, behind it all there is the hand of God, for it says, it is HE that gathers them (v. 16).

By the end of 1989 religion was officially recognized, a church service had been held in the Kremlin itself, and Gorbachev had been welcomed at the Vatican. It was very exciting to see these changes we had anticipated take place in 1989 in line with our historic prophetic understanding. Russia had suddenly turned from atheistic communism to Christianity and a new united Europe was being born as we knew must take place (see Revelation 17). These events led to the reunification of Germany the following year, the 3rd of October 1990.

It is significant that the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall also marks the anniversary of the “Night of Broken Glass”, an anti-Jewish pogrom in 1938 that foreshadowed the Holocaust. Although the world continues to celebrate the peace that came from a united Germany and a new united Europe, we should be alert to the fact Bible prophecy marks this as the prelude to Armageddon as this Kingdom of men, which is also the Magog of Ezekiel 38 arises to make war with the saints. This is the latter day mission of the Roman beast described in Daniel 7 as well as in Revelation 17 where it speaks of the united nations of Europe:

“These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them…” (Rev. 17:13,14)

Thirty years on we see a united Christian Europe with Britain on the way out, growing cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican, and a resurgent Russia firmly placed in the Middle East. All the pieces are in place for our Lord to return. Are we ready? He says,

“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon” (Rev. 16:15-16).

This has been Daniel Billington with you this week. We invite you to come back next week to check in on what’s been happening as we continue to watch Bible prophecy fulfilling around the world.