Is the Pope in the Bible? A Biblical Perspective

By Mark Swarbrick

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Is the pope in the Bible? The Roman Catholic pope is one of the most recognizable religious leaders in the world, yet the New Testament never establishes an office called the pope or places one bishop over the entire body of Christ. That makes the enormous attention given to the death of a pope and the selection of his successor especially striking from a biblical perspective.

What does the Bible say about the pope, and could the worldwide prominence of the papacy have prophetic significance? Revelation 17 describes a wealthy and corrupt religious power with extraordinary influence over peoples, nations, and kings. That prophecy provides a biblical framework for examining the papacy and the remarkable attention the world gives to Rome.

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The Pope, Revelation 17, and the Scarlet Woman

The answer is found in knowing the identity of “the woman who rides the beast.”

Revelation 17:3-6:

“I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: ‘Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.’ And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.”

Note that the “woman who rides the beast” (often called the “scarlet woman”) is described as having great influence over “peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues” and as one “who reigns over the kings of the earth”. The text says the inhabitants of the earth are “intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries” and that she holds a “golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication”

The woman who rides the beast in Revelation 17 is a symbolic representation of a powerful, corrupt entity that exerts control over secular authorities and leads people away from true faith. She is both rich and a promoter of sexual sin.

One-World Religion

Many Bible scholars believe in the last days the cult of Catholicism will unite with apostate protestant churches and form a one-world religion and that this entity will be the vile woman described in Revelation.

In December 2023, the Vatican released a declaration, signed by Pope Francis, which clarified that Catholic priests may offer blessings to individuals in same-sex relationships. So, rather than lovingly warning such people that the Bible teaches that those engaging in homosexual acts will go to hell, the Catholic Church puts their mark of approval upon such behavior. Additionally, many mainline denominations are now ordaining homosexuals to pastoral ministry, thereby giving their approval upon this sin that God says is detestable in His sight.

We are in the end times of the last days, and what we see before our eyes is the formation of the woman who rides the beast. The beast, of course, is the Antichrist and this false religion, of which Catholicism is a forerunner, will hail the coming man of sin as a great world leader. When you see all the fanfare and attention being given to the pope, know that you are seeing Bible prophecy being fulfilled before your eyes.

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