Setting the tone for 2015, Pope Francis again attempts to assert himself as a moral authority and affirms his advocacy for peace and equality for all men as his New Year’s address decries the practice of slavery and human trafficking. Huffington Post headline reads: “Pope Francis Starts 2015 With Powerful Anti-Slavery, Human Trafficking Message.”1 Human trafficking by definition is “… a modern form of slavery. It involves controlling a person through force, fraud, or coercion to exploit the victim for forced labor, sexual exploitation, or both.”2 In Francis’ own words “‘All of us are called [by God] to be free, all are called to be sons and daughters, and each, according to his or her own responsibilities, is called to combat modern forms of enslavement. From every people, culture and religion, let us join our forces’”3 “That message was sent to heads of state and governments, international institutions and parishes throughout the 1.2-billion-member church.”4 The quoted portions of the above articles point out the wide dissemination of this message, which was specially sent to government leaders and heads of international institutions as well as church leaders, urging from among every “people, culture, and religion” a “joining of our forces”—“our forces” being the Roman Catholic Church, to fight against this moral evil. However, Bible Prophecy is clear that the Papal power is no champion for freedom, religious or otherwise; and that she will attempt to conceal her real purposes behind a garb of peace, sanctity, and compassion. In order for the Papacy, the Beast, (Revelation 13:1-10) to accomplish her ends, which culminate in the enforcement of the Mark of the Beast, she will bring about a unification of religions, nations, and people generally (Rev. 13:15 and 16) upon the premise of morality and universal brotherhood, with herself sitting at the head, to utterly destroy those who do not yield her homage (see Revelation 17:18).

“The papacy is just what prophecy declared that she would be, the apostasy of the latter times. 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4. It is a part of her policy to assume the character which will best accomplish her purpose; but beneath the variable appearance of the chameleon she conceals the invariable venom of the serpent. ‘Faith ought not to be kept with heretics, nor persons suspected of heresy’… she declares. Shall this power, whose record for a thousand years is written in the blood of the saints, be now acknowledged as a part of the church of Christ?5

The Pope stated in his new year’s message that we are all called to be “sons and daughters.” Interestingly, he does not mention that we are called to be sons and daughters of God. He is undoubtedly referring to bringing all people under the self-proclaimed “Mother Church,” The Roman Catholic Church. The Papacy, in no uncertain terms, extols the motherhood of the Catholic Church and declares that all other Christian denominations originate with her. “Protestant church leaders have expressed their disappointment at a document issued by the Vatican which reaffirms the Catholic stance on other churches. The Dominus Iesus declaration, which has been written by a close aide of Pope John Paul II, says that the Roman Catholic church is the ‘mother’ of all Christian denominations and that it is incorrect to refer to the Church of England and other Protestant churches as ‘sister’ organisations on a par with Rome.6 The Bible does acknowledge this apostate power to be a mother church, with many daughters, “Mystery Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots,” drunken with the blood of the saints and martyrs (Revelation 17:5 and 6), under a covering of peace, concealing the most heinous and deadly practices and purposes.

Daniel 8:24 and 25 indicate that the Papacy, while assuming an appearance of peace, will destroy many. “And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.”

Publicly, the Papacy is parading herself as a standard of morality, humility, and justice for all people, but behind the scenes she is enriching herself and furthering her purposes by exploiting men’s fears and thus enslaving them in darkness, error, and superstition as she has done during the Dark Ages (538-1798). Is it not quite the contradiction that the very entity that controls, thrives on and is perpetuating the largest human trafficking operation is calling for individuals to “combat modern forms of enslavement?” Consider this text concerning Mystery Babylon, a descriptive name assigned to the Papacy in scripture “… Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more…The merchandise of gold, and silver… and slaves, and souls of men” Revelation 18:10-13. Since her very inception, the Roman Catholic Church has ever used methods of coercion, aggressive solicitation, recruitment, bribery, inducement and deception to enlist individuals to join her ranks and to carry out her every demand, hence enriching herself (monetarily and influentially) and controlling men’s consciences.

Human trafficking will be in existence until the very last crisis when the human trafficking operation will reach its climax when all men, rich, poor, free, and bond will be forced, whether through torture, trickery, bribery, or inducements, to receive the Mark of the Beast under penalty of death. “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads” Revelation 13:15 and 16. All will be enslaved to Satan through this power to receive his mark except those who have learned to love and trust God and His every Word and love not their lives unto the death. Sadly, as it was typified in the time of the famine in Joseph’s day (Genesis 47:18), and again at the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, (Lamentations 5:6-9), once the Mark of the Beast is enforced, men will knowingly sell (traffic) their souls to be afforded the privileges of eating, drinking, buying and selling and to preserve their lives, reputations and statuses. To cause God’s people to fall, Satan plots “‘I will so control the minds under my power that God’s Sabbath shall be a special object of contempt. A sign? I will make the observance of the seventh day a sign of disloyalty to the authorities of earth. Human laws will be made so stringent that men and women will not dare to observe the seventh-day Sabbath. For fear of wanting food and clothing, they will join with the world in transgressing God’s law. The earth will be wholly under my dominion.’”7

It is evident that the prophecies of Revelation 13, 17 and 18 have almost reached their complete fulfillment, and while God’s people are to be aware of the signs of the times and fearlessly proclaim them, they are more importantly to be critically examining their Bibles and their own lives, surrendering their sins and allowing Christ to abide within daily. A mere knowledge of Bible prophecy can avail nothing if an individual is not in Christ and Christ is not abiding in Him, and will not prevent that individual from succumbing to the beast, and thus becoming his slave by receiving his mark. Let us choose today to become servants of Christ. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Romans 6:16.

“But unless we do yield ourselves to the control of Christ, we shall be dominated by the wicked one. We must inevitably be under the control of the one or the other of the two great powers that are contending for the supremacy of the world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not co-operate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and will make it his abiding place. The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. Unless we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end.” 8

1 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/01/pope-francis-human-trafficking-_n_6403352.html
2 http://oag.ca.gov/human-trafficking/what-is
3 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/01/pope-francis-new-year-mass-slavery-human-trafficking
4 Ibid
5 White, Ellen. The Great Controversy, 1911, page 571
6 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/910612.stm
7 White, Ellen. Prophets and Kings, (1917), page 184
7 White, Ellen. The Desire of Ages, (1898), page 324