Pope choice fulfills ancient prophecy?

[Note: This was an interesting article that was sent to me by e-mail from Prophecy News Watch -- to subscribe write to: prophecynewswatch-subscribe@MyInJesus.com". While I am not one to put much stock in extra-biblical prophecies, such as those by Nostradamus or others, I found this one intriguing. I firmly believe that we are in the end days, the last days before Christ will return. As I understand the prophetic books of the Bible, it appears that the signs of the times are pointing to the imminent return of Christ, whether it will be with a pretribulational rapture prior to the Second Coming or simply Christ coming to establish His kingdom. Either way, I'm happy. All I can say is be watchful, for you do not know when Christ is coming back, and be wary, testing all the spirits and all the prophecies against God's word. Regardless, enjoy the article. Maybe it will interest you. Greg]

A prophecy by a 12th-century Catholic saint that predicted characteristics of the last 112 popes appears to have been strengthened by the election of the new pontiff.

The prophecy labels the new pope "the Glory of the Olive." The Benedictine Order known as the Olivetans has as its symbol the olive branch. The new pope, though not of that order, chose as his name Benedict XVI.

St. Malachy, an Irish Catholic bishop, was known as a gifted prophet, even predicting the date of his own death in 1148. He was canonized in 1190 by Pope Clement III.

According to his biographer, the bishop was visiting Rome in 1139 when he went into a trance and received a vision. Malachy wrote down this extraordinary vision in which he claims to have foreseen all of the popes from the death of Innocent II until the destruction of the church and the return of Christ. He named exactly 112 popes from that time until the end.

St. Malachy wrote a few prophetically descriptive words in Latin about each one of the popes. He then gave the manuscript to Pope Innocent II and it was deposited in the Vatican Archives where it was forgotten for several centuries. Then in 1590, it was rediscovered and published.

Scholars have matched up the descriptions with each pope since that time. "Though they are a bit obscure, they have fit the general profile of each of the popes".

According to St. Malachy, there will be only two more popes before the destruction of Rome, including newly elected Benedict XVI.

Prophecy expert Hal Lindsey recently commented on these prophecies saying, "Whatever inspired St. Malachy's predictions, they continue to be right on". "The pope's impact will be very great in setting up the world for the coming Antichrist."

Lindsey told Joseph Farah on his nationally syndicated radio show today: " If St. Malachy is right, the glory of the olive will be imprinted on what he [the new pope] does, and secondly, he won't live very long – because we're at an advanced stage in Bible prophecy, so he couldn't live very long. We have to go to the last pope very soon in order to stay current with this prophetic scenario that's already in place."

In his column, Lindsey points out that the pope who takes office after Benedict XVI will be, according to Malachy's prophecy, the final pope before Rome is destroyed.

"I don't believe [Benedict XVI] will live long, probably about five years," Lindsey told a caller on Farah's show. "But he will have an enormous impact. … He will extend the power and influence of the church before he dies. "

And then the 112th pope, who is called 'Peter the Roman,' he is the one who is going to play a very clear role in the End Times scenario."

The SpiritDaily analysis also points to St. Malachy's prophecy:

"In the true way that prophecy operates, many expected that, to fulfill Malachy's prophecy, the next pope would have to be a Benedictine – when in fact it turned out to be a cardinal who meditated in Benedictine monasteries and took the name Benedict!"