Bible in the News | The Head of the Roman Church visits the Jewish State of Israel

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	The Head of the Roman Church visits the Jewish State of Israel Is the Pope really the 'pilgrim of peace' he markets himself to be?
Thursday, May 14, 2009	www.bibleinthenews.com Audio & Print versions

If we go back in history, we discover that the Vatican has been against the idea of the State of Israel from the start. In the book "The Vatican and Zionism" by Sergio I. Minerbi, he points out that "...the Holy See's policy toward political Zionism is inseparable from the Catholic Church's religious stand regarding the Jews." and he notes that, "For hundreds of years, the Catholic Church has taken the theological position that the Church is the "true Israel" and the exclusive heir of the Bible." On May 19, 1896 when Herzl met with the nuncio, or Vatican Ambassador in Vienna and made a proposal for a Jewish state with Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth extra-territorialized and the capital elsewhere, the Ambassador's reply was: "I believe Rome will be against us, because she does not consider the solution of the Jewish Question in a Jewish state, and perhaps even fears it."

Why did the Vatican fear a Jewish state? The answer was reaffirmed on May 14, 1948 in the official Vatican newspaper when the State of Israel was founded: "Modern Zionism is not the true heir of Biblical Israel, but a secular state ... Therefore the Holy Land and its sacred sites belong to Christianity, the True Israel." The Catholic belief and that of many other "Christians" is that the divine promise has been transfered from Israel to the Church, which is now the true Israel. What has happened with the reemergence of the Jewish state, its success and transformation from a secular socialist nation, to one that is becoming more and more religious, is a fear realized for the Catholic Church.

The true New Testament view, is that Gentiles are invited to participate in a Jewish hope, a hope the Apostle Paul termed the "Hope of Israel" in Acts 28. When the Apostle uses the word "Israel", he means Israel! If we have any doubts he elaborates in his discourse before Agrippa in Acts 26 where he says: "I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers; Unto which promise our twelve tribes instantly serving God day and night, hope to come." It is the hope of the twelve tribes. When Jesus instituted the remembrance of his death and resurrection on passover, he made the covenant with his twelve apostles and said: "...I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Paul's faith was Hebrew to the core.

When the angel Gabriel announced the glad tidings of the gospel to Mary he proclaimed: "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. (Luke 1:31-33) There is absolutely no way of getting around the words of Gabriel in his announcement of the gospel. Jesus to be a king, so sit on the covenant throne of David and to reign over the house of Jacob - the twelve tribes. The Gentiles rejoice with the Jewish people, not supersede them. The arrogant doctrine of replacement theology seeks to glorify the power hungry institution of the Catholic Church which wishes to control the hearts of men. For the despised Jew to have control of their so-called holy places is too much for them.

The Israeli news site Arutz Sheva makes the comment that, "In 1964, Pope Paul VI visited Israel for 11 hours, never referred to Israel by its name, tried to avoid the word “Jews,” and defended Pope Pius XII's silence during the Holocaust. He refused to visit Jerusalem, and in protest, Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Nissim refused to meet him." Arutz Sheva notes regarding the current Papal visit that: "The papal visit was implicitly political from the moment the pope landed at Ben Gurion Airport from Jordan Monday. At the Vatican’s request, Israel removed its national flag from the welcoming ceremony while Pope Benedict implicitly called for the establishment of a new Palestinian Authority state."

Where else in the world would it be accepted for a head of state to arrive in a foreign country, and upon arrival call for a new state to be created within its borders? It is absurd. Indeed, on the trip the Pope called for a "sovereign Palestinian homeland"! He called the Israeli security barrier 'tragic', a barrier created to protect Israeli men, women and children from the brutal homicide bombers form the Arab towns. According to the UK Daily Telegraph the head of the Roman Church went to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem but did not visit the museum itself as "one exhibit includes a photograph of the Pope's wartime predecessor, Pius XII, with a caption accusing him of remaining silent in the face of the Holocaust." The truth being, that he aided the Holocaust - see the "Vatican Against Europe" available on the Bible Magazine Website. Holocaust survivors were angered by Benedict's 'lukewarm' speech, reported the Israeli paper Ha'aretz. The Israeli paper Ha'Yom, had the headline: "He didn't ask for forgivness". Buchenwald survivor Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau noted: "There was no mention of the Germans, or Nazis, who carried out the massacre. There was not a word of sharing the grief or of compassion or pain for the six million victims." Instead of saying the Jews were murdered he used the less severe word killed. We should not be surprised however, as it says in the book of Revelation regarding this Roman system: "They repented not of their deeds."

YNET news reported that Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said, the pope's visit to the West Bank Wednesday amounts to "a call to end injustice and end occupation." This in fact is the message of the Pope's visit. The overall theme has been a push for a Palestinian Arab state. This message comes carefully timed as a coordinated world wide push is underway for this new Arab state. As far as the Vatican is concerned Jewish sovereignty over Jerusalem and Bethlehem must end. It may seem strange at first, but the Vatican would much prefer Arab sovereignty in these places than Jewish - the Arabs have no claims to be the kingdom of God and the Jews do. It may seem strange for a self styled "Pilgrim of Peace" to call for the establishment of an Arab state, that would no doubt follow the path of the Gaza Strip Arabs into a hornets nest of terror and rockets. However the Pope isn't really interested in the Palestinians or their suffering. He is really interested in wresting sovereignty of the "Holy Places" away from the Jews and the end of religious Zionism.

An Arab state in the strategic highlands of of Judea and Samaria, and the return of Arab refugees to Israel proper, would result in the end of the Jewish state of Israel. That's exactly what the Pope wants.

However I doubt the Pope will get his way this time... even though he has the world behind him. He will come again to the Holy Land and try and use force to implement his ideas, at the head of a Crusade, scripturally known as Armageddon.

Thanks for listening and feel free to send us comments, as we appreciate them. Keep listening to the Bible in the News - www.bibleinthenews.com as we examine world events in the light of the Bible and wait for the destruction of Babylon the Great! This has been David Billington with you.

Printed: Thursday, May 14, 2009

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