Jimmy: As promised we're going to have a Middle East news update, David Dolan is the man that is involved in helping us understand what is going on in that part of the world. The appearance of Pope Francis in the Middle East was quite unique. He came first into Jordan and then came over into Israel, that was a very interesting way of entering the lands of the Bible for the Pope.
Dave Dolan: Well actually Jimmy, during the first modern papal visit that was about 25 years ago, the then pope came in also through Jordan, but did not go into Israel at all, he actually just stayed on the Jordanian side of Jerusalem and did not even cross over into Israel proper. Well, that changed with the last papal visit and this papal visit is the same. Pope Francis met with Shimon Peres, the Israeli President, PM Binyamin Netanyahu, he visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, the Western Wall of the Temple Mount which is falsely called the Judaism's holiest site, it is the mount itself that is the holiest site, even though there is a Muslim mosque up there.
His declared main aim of coming to the holy land was to promote Christian unity as he put it and as a highlight of that, a meeting with the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem. Of course, the Greek Orthodox Church a part of the overall orthodox churches in the world. The Coptic church in Egypt, they are not in unity with the Roman Catholic Church and many have tried to bring that about, and it seems like Francis is once again hoping to do that in using this visit in Jerusalem as a stepping stone towards that.
Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News
A religious leader traveling from Rome to Jerusalem is the prophetic scenario that is found in God's Word for the End Times.
When you talk about Pope Francis visiting the Middle East, coming through Jordan and spending several days in Israel, you have to realize that scenario, a religious leader coming from Rome to the Middle East is a part of an End Times scenario that is talked about in Bible prophecy. Revelation 17 talks about the false church, the ecclesiastical Babylon that will be headquartered in Rome, Italy.
In the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation Period that would be the case there in Rome with the headquarters for the false church also you'll find the revived Roman Empire all headed up and directed by the Antichrist. At the end of those 3 1/2 years, the Antichrist will call for his political leaders to destroy that false church and then he comes to Jerusalem, II Thessalonians 2:4 and walks into a temple that will be standing there on the Temple Mount.
By the way all the preparations have been made for that temple to be erected on the Temple Mount.
