Arecent (September 2000) doctrinal state ment from the Vatican caused quite a stir amongst non-Catholic Christian churches and the Jewish community.
The document Dominus Iesus (Lord Jesus) and a leaked four-page letter from the Vatican’s Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the world’s Catholic bishops attracted a blaze of international media publicity and concern among other faiths that the statements were a setback to ecumenism—moves toward Christian unity and cooperation.
For example, regarding ecumenical dialogue the statement said that despite a certain level of communion with other Christian churches, the “church of Christ… continues to exist fully only in the Catholic Church”.
As far as salvation was concerned, the document said that whilst salvation is possible for those outside the Church, it always takes place through a special grace from Christ, and in an “indispensable” though mysterious relationship with the Church.
The non-Catholic Christian churches were greatly disturbed by the document’s assertion that ecclesiastical communities that have not preserved the valid episcopate through apostolic succession and the valid Eucharist “are not churches in the proper sense”. ˙The document stated that Christian churches other than Roman Catholic had “defects”, partly because they did not recognise the authority of the Pope.
Jewish religious leaders were upset by the Vatican’s claim that non-Christian faiths had “gravely deficient” chances of salvation.
The ecumenical stance promoted by the Vatican in recent years had led other churches to believe that Rome accepted the premise that there was more than one way to heaven. It now seems they were under a delusion, as Rome has now made it very clear that if anyone wants salvation it must be through the Roman Church. Critics of the document said it seemed to contradict Pope John Paul’s frequent appeals to non-Christian religious leaders to find common ground in one Divinity.
Whilst the document was not actually signed by the Pope, a senior Vatican official Monsignor Tarcisio Bertoni, who was the signatory, said it had the Pope’s explicit approval.
We are well aware that the book of Revelation describes the Roman Church as “The Mother of Harlots” (Rev 17:5), and Rome herself is described as saying “I sit a queen, and am no widow” (Rev 18:7). Both these quotations portray Rome as having a position of eminence in the last days.
It is therefore highly significant that in the twilight of the current Pope’s reign the Vatican has seen fit to make it clear to all, her position as head of all the churches. It is not without significance that Rome is described in the book of Revelation as the adulterous mother church. The four-page letter from the Vatican’s Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger cautioned against lax use of the term “sister churches” when referring to other churches, because as far as Ratzinger was concerned the “one, holy, catholic and apostolic Universal Church is not sister but mother of all the particular churches”.
Once again we see a remarkable fulfilment of the prophetic word which is an impetus to our faith in these last days.
Interesting Developments in Europe
Last November, Europe’s ‘top military brass’ assembled in Brussels for a momentous meeting which commentators have said:
“… might well mark as a turning point for the European Union and its ambition to become a global political power on a par with its economic ‘clout’.
“Generals and defence ministers from all but one of the EU’s 15 member States pledged troops, combat aircraft and warships to a new 60 000-strong ‘rapid-reaction force’, which will be ready for action by 2003.
“This pan-European force will give the bloc a joint military capability separate from the United States-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation for the first time in its history” (The Australian Financial Review, 23/11/2000).
What is most interesting is that the EU has indicated that its troops might be deployed well beyond European and Nato borders, perhaps even to such conflict areas as East Timor. Whilst the EU did not say so, the scene portrayed in Ezekiel 38 of Western European powers being involved in the invasion of Israel is now obviously something that the EU nations could get involved in if it served their interests.
The French defence minister, Mr Alain Richard, said that this recent development was a decisive moment for Europe’s role in the world. On the other hand, the British Opposition Conservative Party attacked the EU military initiative as anti- Nato and proof positive that the EU was developing super-power ambitions. This different outlook on Europe’s role in the future is exactly as we would expect it to be from our understanding of Bible prophecy.
Republicans, who control the US Congress, have already signalled reluctance to see the US military take on extensive peace-keeping duties in Europe, where the US up until now has been heavily involved. In other words, the Republicans would like to see the US less involved in the affairs of Europe.
Whilst these interesting developments were taking place, the Russian President, Mr Vladimir Putin made a visit to Paris (in October 2000) for an EU-Russia summit aimed at boosting bilateral relations and stressing economic cooperation. Before his departure from Moscow, Mr Putin made a remarkable statement. He told a public television station that he “did not rule out Russian integration with Europe in the future.
“We intend to expand our relations [with the EU] in all areas and I am not ruling out that at some stage, relations between Russia and Europe could take on a character of integration” (The Australian Financial Review 31/10/2000).
More recently (December 2000), the leaders of the 15-nation European Union got together to decide common policies for the future. In the sixmonthly summit in the French resort of Nice, the EU leaders were being asked “to take yet another bold step in the development of Europe’s great unfinished project—a fully integrated, frontierfree single market of 370 million consumers, one which the bloc hopes will soon match the clout of the mighty United States. In essence, they are being asked to give up more sovereignty” (The Australian Financial Review, 4/12/2000).
On the other hand, British critics believe that the EU has already moved well beyond its original mandate of establishing a free trade bloc—to that of creating a European super-state.
All of these remarkable developments highlight for us the continuing hand of God amongst the nations. The opposing power blocs, as delineated in Ezekiel 38, are gradually taking shape, and the reality of a Russian led, European supported invasion of Israel, opposed by the Tarshish merchant powers, grows nearer daily. Hardly a day goes by when we are not reminded of the wonderful fulfilment of Bible prophecy before our eyes.
Where to Now for Israel?
As we are all aware, over the past two months or so there has been considerable unrest between Israel and the Palestinians. On 28 September Israel’s opposition leader Ariel Sharon, reviled by Palestinians, made a visit, with soldiers, to the Haram al- Sharif/Temple Mount, a shrine in Jerusalem sacred to both Muslims and Jews. It is widely believed that Yasser Arafat, who was frustrated by his inability to obtain what he wanted in his negotiations with Ehud Barak, the Israeli Prime Minister, used Mr Sharon’s visit as an excuse to foment the violent reaction by Palestinians, which has seen some 300 people killed in riots, shootings, and terror attacks, in the worst fighting in a decade.
At this stage, there seems no solution to the continuing wave of violence which has swept the area, and until Mr Arafat gives the Palestinians the order to cease the unrest, there seems little prospect of peace coming to the area. Some commentators believe, however, that matters are even beyond Mr Arafat’s control to bring about a cessation of hostilities.
On the other hand, the Bible does make it clear that there will be a measure of peace and security in Israel prior to the invasion by Russia and her allies. In the midst of the unrest, the Israeli Prime Minister decided to call an early election, hoping that some time between now and the likely election time in May 2001 he would be able to reach an agreement with the Palestinians and thus ensure his re-election. As part of his pre-election posturing, Mr Barak has launched a revised, staged peace plan with the Palestinians. He said he would recognise a Palestinian state with contiguous areas in the West Bank, but he would put off the most sensitive issues of the future of Jerusalem and a solution for Palestinian refugees. Jerusalem has thus once again reared its head as the “burdensome stone” on which nations fall (Zech 8).
Yasser Arafat, who has been a very shrewd survivor in the Arab world, probably knows that he stands a better chance of getting an acceptable deal from Mr Barak than he has from any rightwing, Likud-led government that may replace him. Already, the previous right-wing Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has signalled his intention of throwing his hat into the ring for the top job. An Israeli poll, taken in December, showed Mr Netanyahu defeating incumbent Prime Minister Ehud Barak by a decisive 51–37 per cent. Mr Arafat may also prefer dealing with the current US President, Bill Clinton (who is most anxious to stitch up a peace deal in the Middle East before his term expires), than trying his luck with the incoming US President, whoever he may be. So the incentive for both Mr Barak and Mr Arafat is clearly to stitch up an acceptable peace deal before the Israeli election.
Can Mr Barak pull off a coup and strike a peace deal with Yasser Arafat before the May 2001 elections? We do not know what the future holds, except what the broad outline of the prophetic scriptures reveals to us. Up until recent times the peace moves between Israel and the Palestinians were very strong, and yet all this has been shattered over the past two months. Even Egypt, which was the one Arab nation which had reasonable ties with Israel, withdrew her ambassador from Israel as a result of the violence. The 1993 Oslo accord, which set the Middle East peace process in train, is now in tatters.
And yet Ezekiel 38 reveals that Israel, dwelling in safety, will be caught unawares by the lightning invasion by Gog. Obviously the measure of peace which Israel enjoyed up until recently must be restored before the Russian invasion. How this will come about we do not know, but we wait with great interest to see the exciting developments taking place in the Promised Land.