While I have no axe to grind with the Pope, he does not represent me, nor do I acknowledge his authority within the universal church of Christ, of which I by God’s grace count myself a member. He represents a man-made hierarchy that has no basis in the Bible.

My interest in the Pope is purely eschatological. There’s an interesting character described in Revelation 13 (identified elsewhere as the “false prophet”) having “two horns like a lamb but who speaks like a dragon”. I marvel at how the Pope “pontificates” on the religion of global warming. While the world’s most influential population center, the Northeastern US, shivers under a winter that won’t end, the “scientists” have punted the ball to the Pope, who is gleefully carrying their religious message to the masses.

This article from NBC news reports that a mere 6% of people polled by NBC news and the Wall Street Journal view the Pope negatively. Those are pretty good numbers for Francis. Until you read Luke 6:26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.”

I’m not sure where we are on the eschatological time scale. But it is beginning to feel like we’re getting awfully close to the end. I can’t say that Francis is “the guy” from Revelation 13, but there are recurring prophetic themes that play throughout history, and this one is certainly humming a familiar tune.