The Coming War Between Catholicism and Islam
The Catholic Church has been shocked by what is happening in the Islamic world. And it has dramatically shifted its approach to Islam—especially radical Islam.
Carefully examine this stunning report: “Nearly two years after conducting a vigorous international campaign against military intervention in Iraq, the Vatican reversed itself.
“The Telegraph, Britain’s leading conservative newspaper, reported October 10 that Vatican officials now support a multinational military presence led by NATO to restore order and protect Iraq’s nascent democracy. …
“[A]n editorial in the newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference, Avvenire, written by Vittorio Parsi, a professor at the Catholic University of Milan and the newspaper’s foreign policy expert, bluntly outlined Vatican policy: ‘What (the terrorists) want is, in fact, not “Iraq for the Iraqis,” but “Iraq for the assassins.” Thus all of Iraq will become a colossal common area for fundamentalist terrorism, for the brigands of Ba’ath, and for the most extremist Shiite mullahs. The international community and the West, which objectively holds within this community the greatest share of power, culture and responsibility, have the duty of blocking the realization of this plan. The Atlantic alliance, with its attitudes and counterbalances, is the multilateral institution that can assume the onus of protecting the right of the Iraqis to express their political will by voting.’
“Rome’s stance goes beyond a resigned acceptance of uncomfortable facts or the determination to influence the issue. It reflects a gradual yet increased awareness—and fear—of jihadism’s growing influence. …
“Rome also appears more willing to advocate a more assertive military presence against jihadist terror, within limits governed by international law. …
“When asked whether the God of Christians is the same as Allah, [Monsignor Cesare] Mazzolari [bishop of Rumbek in Sudan] replied, ‘No way! Where would the concept of the Trinity fit in …?’
“Mazzolari stated what many Vatican officials are afraid to admit: the ‘clash of civilizations’ is here.
“‘This is just the beginning,’ he said. ‘The church has defeated communism, but is just starting to understand its next challenge—Islamism, which is much worse. The holy father has not been able to take up this challenge due to his old age. But the next pope will find himself having to face it.’
“Mazzolari is not alone. [Sandro] Magister [who has covered the Vatican for more than 25 years] wrote that when bishops from around the world report personally to the pope, ‘many of those hailing from Muslim countries think just like Mazzolari. And, when in audience with the pope, some of these bishops even speak up about it.’
“[Vatican secretary of state Angelo] Sodano, the Vatican’s second-most powerful cardinal, has been listening. ‘The big problem of the future will be our relationship with the Islamic world,’ he told the Italian daily La Repubblica on October 15. ‘It is a challenge that does not only concern the church.’ …
“Given the horrifying nature of jihadist imperialism, perhaps Rome is starting to realize that it doesn’t have centuries to act” (FrontPageMagazine.com, November 9).
If we know history, we can see this situation building toward war! Some background will help us understand.
The Crusades
The Crusades were a series of Roman Catholic “holy” wars to wrest control of the Holy Land from Muslims. They produced some of the bloodiest battles in history. Did you ever wonder how the Catholics reconcile that “holy” slaughter with the Bible,which states, “Thou shalt not kill”? Or how they can read the Sermon on the Mount and still lead the religious world in spilling rivers of blood?
They are called the Christian Crusades. That label itself is a deception. They were primarily Catholic crusades. Other Christian religions have their problems, but let’s not blame them for what the Catholics did—and will do.
In A.D. 622, Catholics fought and were defeated in a crusade against the Persians and the Jews. Some 60,000 Catholics were killed and 35,000 enslaved. The fall of Jerusalem left the Catholic world shocked and mourning.
This war embittered Catholics against the Jews for the role they played in it. Much anti-Semitism began because of it.
Some historians consider this the First Crusade. But the Crusades we best remember came later, beginning in the 11th century.
Pope Urban II unleashed a savage Catholic army and started these later Crusades. This “righteous” army marched 3,000 miles to conquer the Holy Land.
Here is an excerpt from the book Crusades, by Terry Jones and Alan Ereira, which became a BBC television series: “By summoning an army under the banner of the cross, THE POPE WAS EXTENDING THE CHURCH’S MANTLE OVER ALL CHRISTENDOM. THIS WAS THE IDEA AT THE VERY HEART OF THE REVOLUTIONARY PAPACY; in place of separate local churches at the center of discrete communities, THERE WAS TO BE ONE OVERARCHING CHURCH, RULED BY ONE OVERARCHING POPE. The crusade was to be its expression and its instrument” (emphasis mine throughout).
They state that this thinking was AT THE HEART OF THE PAPACY. The popes wanted to rule any church called Christian. Through the Holy Roman Empire, they also tried repeatedly to rule the entire world. They have succeeded six times, and according to Bible prophecy are about to succeed again—for the last time. (Request our free booklet Germany and the Holy Roman Empire for proof.)
The Protestant churches are prophesied to be brought back into the Catholic Church (Isaiah 47). Mostly, this will be done through bloodshed. Remember, this wish to rule all Christianity is at “the very heart of the revolutionary papacy.” That means this philosophy has motivated them for nearly 2,000 years. They still believe violent and bloody crusades are righteous. Have they ever truly repented of this condemning history? The answer is no. The best they have managed are some recent vague apologies.
History proves the Catholic Church to be one of the most militant institutions ever created. It does not believe in a democratic philosophy. It has routinely and often “converted” people by the sword. And yet, this world seems unwilling to hold it accountable for its war crimes.
Modern historians have shown how closely the Vatican worked with the Nazis. It was through the Catholic Church that most of the leading Nazis escaped after World WarII. That history is well documented. No one should doubt it. (Read The Unholy Trinityby Mark Aarons and John Loftus, available at bookstores.)
Doesn’t that crime reveal that the Catholics were deeply involved with the Nazi war machine? Just a little logic should teach us that!
This subject is too important to let our emotions stand in the way, because the worst is yet to come!
The last crusade will be the supreme inquisition of all history. It is time we understood the bloody history of the Crusades and let it be a warning!
The world seems almost unaware of these monstrous crimes.
The Jones and Ereira book continues, “Urban’s army would also rescue Jerusalem, the spiritual (and therefore the physical) CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE. He hoped that the redeemed Jerusalem would be directly ruled by the church.
“Every man who enrolled for the struggle must mark himself out by wearing a cross and, most important, vow to continue on his way until he reached Jerusalem.
“Urban’s method of raising this army was completely original; as well as pay, he could offer paradise [much like the Islamic terrorists]—anyone who took part had all their sins forgiven. ‘Whoever for devotion alone, not to gain honor or money, goes to Jerusalem to liberate the church of God can substitute this journey for all penance.’”
Any Bible student ought to know that only God can offer paradise and forgive sins.But that is the big problem with most Christians: They don’t believe and obey the Bible!
The whole world, including the religious world, is deceived (Revelation 12:9). Enormous problems like the Crusades will continue until we confront our own deception.
Jones and Ereira conclude, “By saying that carrying out a military/political enterprise would make you a better person, wiping out past sins, Urban had invented a way by which every person could internalize papal policy. Fighting in the pope’s cause was not only an obligation, it made you righteous. With that one idea, mass political action was launched. With that one idea, ideology was born. With that one idea, the Crusade was set in motion. URBAN DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT HE HAD DONE.”
Perhaps this pope did not know what he had done. BUT wHAT HE BEGAN LED TO A NUMBER OF INDESCRIBABLY BRUTAL WARS BETWEEN CATHOLICS AND MUSLIMS.
The real tragedy is that the world, like Pope Urban, still doesn’t understand what he did, and what the Catholic Church continues to do. Their real beliefs surface when they gain power. Today, they are building the greatest power they have ever had. IF YOU UNDERSTAND THEIR HISTORY, THEIR FUTURE IS VERY PREDICTABLE—FAR MORE THAN MOST HISTORIANS BELIEVE. Add Bible prophecy to that equation and you will see that this world faces a frightening specter.
Fighting on Both Sides
THE CRUSADES CREATED RIVERS OF BLOOD. AND IT WAS ALL DONE IN THE NAME OF GOD. Of course, the Muslims responded with massive slaughters against the Crusaders, also in the name of God. Does it make any sense for God to be fighting on both sides? Or are these warring factions just giving our God of love a bloody reputation?
Jerusalem is considered a holy place by both religions. It is indeed considered the “center of the universe” to the Catholics. They believe conquering Jerusalem makes them righteous. That has been their ideology from the beginning. It is still true today. The fruits are there to prove it. The Bible says that “by their fruits ye shall know them.” They believe in war as an instrument to achieve their religious goals.
“The following morning the Crusaders re-entered the al-Aqsa Mosque and slaughtered every Muslim sheltering there. No one knows how many died; the Muslim chronicler reports 70,000. ONE OF THE CRUSADERS REPORTS PICKING HIS WAY THROUGH A MESS OF BLOOD AND BODIES MORE THAN KNEE-DEEP” (ibid.). This is only one episode of many. Many people have seen pictures of this very mosque.
How many Muslims still remember the history of this mosque being knee-deep in Muslim blood? And all of this savagery supposedly made Catholics righteous! A warrior who burned Muslim babies in the Crusade was considered worthy of glory for all eternity! Does this really make sense to a sound mind?
“But killing, the pope now declared, need not be a sin after all. It depended on who you killed. In fact, if you killed the enemies of Christ, killing did not require penance—it was the penance. HOLY SLAUGHTER COULD BE AS EFFECTIVE A DEVOTIONAL ACTIVITY AS PRAYER, OR FASTING, OR PILGRIMAGE.”
The pope said, “Now we are proposing that you should fight wars which contain the glorious reward of martyrdom, in which you can gain the title of present and eternal glory .…”
“The pope had also pointed out the importance of rescuing Jerusalem from the infidel. He seems to have suggested that ‘rescue’ meant ‘seize and keep’” (ibid.).
The pope also said, “Take the road to the Holy Sepulcher, rescue that land from a dreadful race and rule over it yourselves.”
Muslim and Jewish inhabitants of Jerusalem were slaughtered like pigs. And all of this was done by Catholics who presumably became more righteous in the process.
Were these killers true Christians? A true Christian is one who follows Christ. If we look in the gospels, Christ tells us to love our enemies, even die for them—not kill them!
The memory of such horrendous massacres still lives in the minds of many Muslims. Those memories have provoked Arabs and Jews to massacre Catholics throughout history in a similar manner—all in the name of religion.
King Peter’s Crusade
King Peter launched his crusade from the little Mediterranean island of Cyprus, which was captured by Catholic Crusaders during the Third Crusade. Here is what Steven Runciman wrote about King Peter’s crusade in A History of the Crusades: “King Peter arrived at Rhodes early in the month, and on the 25th the whole Cypriot fleet sailed into the harbor, 108 vessels in all, galleys, transports, merchant ships and light skiffs. With the great galleys of the Venetians and those provided by the hospital, the armada numbered 165 ships. They carried a full complement of men, with ample horses, provisions and arms. Not since the Third Crusade had a proportionate expedition set out for the Holy War. …
“During the Friday night there was a fierce Muslim counterattack through one of the southern gates, which the Christians in their excitement had burned down. It was beaten off; and by the Saturday afternoon, all Alexandria was in the Crusaders’ hands.
“THE VICTORY WAS CELEBRATED WITH UNPARALLELED SAVAGERY. TWO AND A HALF CENTURIES OF HOLY WARFARE HAD TAUGHT THE CRUSADERS NOTHING OF HUMANITY. The massacres were only equalled by those of Jerusalem in 1099 and Constantinople in 1204. The Muslims had not been so ferocious at Antioch or at Acre. Alexandria’s wealth had been phenomenal; and the victors were maddened at the sight of so much booty. They spared no one. The native Christians and the Jews suffered as much as the Muslims; and even the European merchants settled in the city saw their factories and storehouses ruthlessly looted. Mosques and tombs were raided and their ornaments stolen or destroyed; churches too were sacked, though a gallant crippled Coptic lady managed to save some of the treasures of her sect at the sacrifice of her private fortune. Houses were entered, and HOUSEHOLDERS WHO DID NOT IMMEDIATELY HAND OVER ALL THEIR POSSESSIONS WERE SLAUGHTERED WITH THEIR FAMILIES. Some 5,000 prisoners, Christians and Jews as well as Muslims, were taken to be sold as slaves. A long line of horses, asses and camels carried the loot to the ships in the harbor and there having performed their task were killed. THE WHOLE CITY STANK WITH THE ODOR OF HUMAN AND ANIMAL CORPSES.”
This author said, “THE CRUSADES WERE THE POPE’S WORK.” The Crusade philosophy has made Catholic popes the bloodiest religious leaders ever!
Still, most people try to hide from this frightening reality. That is the main reason why the worst Catholic crusade is yet to come. Mankind refuses to believe the truth and believe God.
The world so quickly forgets. And as a result, the massive bloodshed continues. The Catholics did these appalling, despicable deeds before the world. But has anyone heard them REPENT before the world?
Cyprus
More than one crusade has been launched from Cyprus. Will we see the last crusade launched from there as well? Is history about to repeat itself?
Turkey, just north of Cyprus, has been a strong member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for many years. Yet, a German-led European Union rejected them from joining the EU—even though they have been applying since 1963, when there were only six members!
Cyprus, on the other hand, was accepted as an EU member as of May this year.
Why, then, has the EU consistently rejected Turkey? Is it because Turkey is predominantly Islamic?
The EU is prophesied to be ultimately comprised of 10 nations, or groups of nations, dominated by Catholicism. Already the EU is being called the Holy Roman Empire. It has traditionally been the enemy of the Muslims.
And why did the EU want tiny Cyprus to be a member? Is the EU already thinking about Cyprus as a launching pad from which to protect its Jerusalem interests?
You can be certain that the EU is thinking about how to protect the holy places in and around Jerusalem. Catholic Europe has thought like this for almost 2,000 years!
Even the people building the EU don’t fully understand what is happening. There is a spirit and force behind these events that the world does not see.
Final Crusade Prophesied
The Jews have Jerusalem now. But not for long. Both Muslims and Catholics have designs for Jerusalem. These two great powers are about to clash again—and go head-to-head in the final crusade over Jerusalem!
In 1997, Iran conducted major war games code-named “Road to Jerusalem.” Between 150,000 and 500,000 soldiers participated. What could be more provocative? Iran is advertising its strategy to the world.
Iran’s designs on Jerusalem are a driving force behind its nuclear program and its acquisition of military hardware. Tehran’s military demonstrations are intended to unnerve Israel. Earlier this year Iran successfully tested its new Shahab-3 intermediate-range missile. This missile can reach southern Europe—Jerusalem is well within its limits! In September, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps General Commander Yahya Rahim-Safavi said Iran’s greatest threats are the United States and Israel. This is preposterous! Israel has never initiated an attack against its neighbors. The truth is, Iran feels no threat to its own peace and safety—it is speedily building its military so it can become a greater threat to Jerusalem’s peace and safety!
Few people understand this Muslim passion for Jerusalem and its holy sites. It is the kind of passion that causes war!
Iran will undoubtedly lead the king of the south (Daniel 11:40). This power will be comprised of the radical Islamic movement. Iran is working fiercely to lead this radically militant religion.
Iran has virtually destroyed the peace process single-handedly. Still, the world continues to talk about peace. Iran and radical Islam don’t want peace, and words won’t deter them.
Joseph de Courcy once wrote this in the Islamic Affairs Analyst: “Subscribers should be in absolutely no doubt about this. From Iran’s support for subversion in Bahrain, through its improving ties with Egypt, its support for Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Islamist revolutionaries in Khartoum, to its close strategic alliance with Moscow, everything has the same ultimate purpose: the liberation of Jerusalem from under the Zionist yoke.”
The U.S. has tried to isolate Iran. Almost no other nation supports America. This attempt has failed. The U.S. is fighting against Bible prophecy.
Here is what the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said in 1996: “We know but one word: struggle, struggle. Jihad, jihad, jihad. When we stop our intifada, when we stop our revolution, we go to the greater jihad, the jihad of the independent Palestinian state with its capital Jerusalem.”
Jihad is the Arab cry for holy war. They will get their war. But it will not be holy. It will lead to the worst suffering this planet has ever experienced!
“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over” (Daniel 11:40). This king of the south is undoubtedly the Iran-led radical Muslims. They are strong and are beginning to PUSH others around the world today.
Soon they will PUSH at the king of the north, the so-called Holy Roman Empire—the same religious power that was behind the Crusades. And that push will surely revolve around Jerusalem.
Just 20 years ago, nobody could have even imagined two world powers coming out of the Middle East and Europe. But God knew exactly what would happen. Nobody but God could have inspired these prophecies. Everybody can see these two great powers today.
Just look at what is happening in Europe—and has been for years. Pope John Paul IIhas worked feverishly to revive the Holy Roman Empire. Early in his pontificate, in Spain, Nov. 9, 1981, he said this: “It can be said that the European identity is not understandable without Christianity and that it is precisely in Christianity that are found those common roots by which the Continent has seen its civilization mature: its culture, its dynamism, its activity, its capacity for constructive expansion in other continents as well; in a word, all that makes up its glory. …
“Find yourself again. Be yourself. Discover your origins, revive your roots. Return to those authentic values which MADE YOUR HISTORY A GLORIOUS ONE and your presence so beneficent in the other continents.”
During the Inquisition, OVER 50 MILLION innocent people WERE KILLED IN THE NAME OF“CHRISTIANITY”! That’s right—50 million! And you can add many millions more as victims of the Holy Roman Empire. Shouldn’t the whole world fear a pope who would say, “DISCOVER YOUR ORIGINS, REVIVE YOUR ROOTS. RETURN TO THOSE AUTHENTIC VALUES WHICH MADE YOUR HISTORY A GLORIOUS ONE”? Those “origins” and “roots” and that “history” caused many millions of people to die!
This is why the world should be so alarmed when it hears the Vatican today talking about its next great adversary being Islamism. They are right: This Middle Eastern power is rising and becoming a serious threat. But for the Catholic Church to speak out about the problem is to bring the specter of the Crusades to life once again!
We must understand the Holy Roman Empire and the Crusades to understand the Catholic passion for Jerusalem. They have a long history of spilling rivers of blood over Jerusalem.
Notice what their first action is after they are victorious: “He shall enter also into theGLORIOUS LAND, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon” (verse 41). They “enter” into the glorious land, or the Holy Land. The Hebrew indicates this is a peaceful entry—not forced. That indicates that the Jews are going to experience a spectacular double-cross!
There is no excuse for America and Britain not knowing the truth. God has been sending His message in power for over 70 years! They have rejected it repeatedly. That is why they now must suffer so intensely. Finally, God will get their attention and lead them to peace, full joy and abundance.
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