REVELATION 17: PROPHECY OF THE SEVEN KINGS - 8TH KING IDENTIFIED

Revelation 17: Prophecy of the Seven Kings - 8th King Identified!

We are now living under the reign of the 8th "king," the last pope.

We wish to share with you in all humility and seriousness the
important fulfillment of the emergence of the 8th "king," the last
pope, and why the 8th is Pope Francis.God's Word never fails because it is
infallible; our interpretations, however, can fail because we are
humans. But those who diligently search His Word under the guidance of
His Spirit will be led to the correct understanding of His prophetic
Word, in His own appointed time.

The 7 kings of Revelation 17 can either refer to kingdoms or kings.
There is no third possibility. The context of Revelation 17 is all
about the Church of Rome. To apply the "kings" in Revelation 17 to
kingdoms would be a flagrant violation of the context, but even if we
were to apply kings to kingdoms, there is no combination of kingdoms
possible that would be in harmony with description given for the
kings, especially as it applies to the reign of the 7th king, which
was foretold to be of short duration. There is no kingdom today that
would fit the short duration description and that would fall before
the commencement of the reign of the 8th.

The "wilderness" context (vs. 3) demands that we focus attention on
the time when the papacy was indeed in its "wilderness" experience.
This took place when the papacy received the deadly wound in 1798,
when Napoleon banished and exiled Pope Pius VI to Valence in France.
Prior to 1798, the papacy was supreme to all the emperors, kings, and
princes of Europe. And in 1929, the papacy was content to see the
popes relegated to mere kings over a land mass of only about 100 acres
in Rome.  (Until 1860, the papal states alone covered over 1/3 of
Italy.)  The count of the 7 kings thus began with Pius XI.

The consequential order of the popes from Pius XI to Benedict XVI fits
perfectly with the prophetic description given in Revelation 17 in two
ways: in the reign of the 6th king/pope, and the reign of the 7th
king/pope. In the former, it was confirmed when the angel took John to
the reign of the 6th king (JPII), the longest reign amongst the 7
kings, and the pope who will be most remembered by the end time
generation. This consequential order was also astonishingly confirmed
by the unprecedented  and sudden resignation of Benedict XVI, which
has shocked the world and shaken the Catholic Church.

If the 7th King was indeed Benedict XVI, then it follows that the pope
that comes after him would be the 8th. Revelation 17 does not permit
any gap or transition between the 7th and the 8th.

As to the divine hint "one is" (vs. 10), we also read into it more
than was intended. When John was given the vision, he was taken to the
time of JPII. It was natural to take John to the reign of the most
important of the 7 kings. Taking John to the reign of the 6th merely
confirmed that the 7 kings were indeed 7 popes, and the 6th was chosen
because his reign was the longest, the most distinguished of the 7
popes, and most importantly because he is the most highly regarded,
remembered, and loved pope in our day.

"The beast that was [until 1798], and is not, [at the time of reign of
6th king, it is still wilderness time for the beast] even he is eighth
[but during the reign of the 8th, the beast power will be fully
restored to the papacy], and is of the seven, [the 8th, though a beast
power now, is yet a king, just like the previous 7 fallen kings], and
goeth into perdition [the Eighth will not prevail, and will be
destroyed and punished violently by the ten kings, when they realize
belatedly the evil nature of beast]. (vs. 11).

Which scenario would best serve Satan’s deceptive plan for the final
crisis: introducing the 8th king/pope as JPII
or as Francis I? We are convinced beyond a shadow of doubt
that introducing the 8th as Francis I serves Satan, the master
deceiver, much better for the following reasons:

While prophecy students were eagerly awaiting the emergence of JPII,
Satan hath stealthily introduced the 8th king/pope with no fanfare,
and amidst worldwide acceptance. Many of us who were pinning our hopes
on the impersonation of JPII were greatly disappointed that our
expectations were not met, and some [sadly] are likely to give up on
Bible prophecies. We appeal to those who are tempted to despair and
give up their faith in Bible prophecies to not give Satan the chance
to claim a victory.

The impersonation of JPII would have given truth the kind of
credibility that Satan fears the most. Thus, it was necessary for
Satan to devise a plan for the introduction of the 8th king/pope that
would not help the cause of God’s followers, and that would lead
many to be discouraged when their expectations of the impersonated
JPII were not met. This discouragement is a triumph for Satan, and he
ensured that the emergence of the 8th king/pope would be a source of
discouragement for many of God’s followers.

By not sending one of his fallen angels to impersonate JPII at this
time, Satan succeeded in avoiding a needless battle with those
Christians who would have denounced this emergence of JPII as a false
resurrection, reminding the world that the dead will remain dead until
the resurrection, and that the appearance of a dead person is indeed a
demonic activity. Such resistance from some of the informed Christians
would have caused a needless distraction for Satan and would have, at
a minimum, undermined the agenda Satan has set for the 8th king/pope
to accomplish in the relatively short time he has. We need to stress
very clearly that future impersonations will take place and could
still possibly include the semblance of JPII and several Bible
characters climaxing in Satan himself impersonating Christ - after
the First Woe when the world will be deceived into believing that it
was the 8th king/pope who succeeded in ending this demonic alien
invasion. After this milestone, the world will be conditioned to
believe anything uttered by the 8th king/pope - Francis I.

Satan foresaw the economic depression that would engulf the world in
the final battle just prior to the Second Coming of Jesus,
triggered by the destructive forces he will unleash on our planet.
Thus, he planned that the 8th king/pope would be someone who has
established an enviable credibility with the poor in his mother
country. Armed with this credibility, the 8th king/pope will exploit
it to draw behind him the growing countless poor of the world; he will
galvanize the poor to bring pressure to bear on the politicians of the
world to adopt the kind of laws and enactments that would severely cut
religious freedoms that are enjoyed in many countries today. As the
number of the poor steadily increases around the world, due to the
ever worsening global economic conditions, the poor will become a
powerful, destructive, and threatening tool in the hand of the 8th,
king/pope against world leaders.

Who can cause more harm and martyrdom than a Jesuit pope? Pope Francis
I is the first such pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church
to be a Jesuit. Satan has been readying the 8th king/pope for many
decades, and he could not find a better candidate for the role of the
8th king than a Jesuit pope. It is not surprising now for us to
imagine how and why countless faithful believers will be martyred in
the coming years at the behest of 8th king!

The reign of the 8th king/pope will incorporate at least 3.5 years,
during which God’s faithful followers will prophesy wearing
sackcloth (Revelation 11:3). Add to the 3.5 years the time it will
take for God’s angels to sound the first 4 trumpets (Rev. ,
plus the 5th trumpet which will last 5 months (Rev.9:1-5). Thus, we
can conclude that the reign of the 8th will potentially be even
shorter than the reign of the 7th king/pope. Thus, the current age of
the 8th king/pope is therefore not an obstacle, given that he is 76
years old. The 8th already gloats that his age is a big plus, as it
reflects accumulated knowledge and wisdom.  Irrespective of how long
Francis I will reign, it is certain that he is the last pope before
the soon Second Advent of our Jesus Christ the Lord.

                             Pope Francis I  © REUTERS/ Max Rossi

The good news that we now wish to share with you is that we are at
last living during the reign of the 8th "king" and that we are only
few years away from the glorious Second Coming of Christ Jesus, and
eternity. However, between now and the Second Coming, we have to pass
through the mother of all persecutions and trials. There is much work
to be done in our hearts and characters, and much work to be done
warning the world of what is about to transpire. Are we ready for life
under the reign of 8th "king," the last pope of Rome? We pray that we
all will become ready before our personal probation is forever closed.