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Protestants, or as many as possible. The Protestants organized in a
world association of Protestants. They've been making overtures back
and forth, but they never got together.
There's only one way the Roman Catholic Church will get together, and
that is the pope must sit on top, but the Protestants don't want him to
be on top. They would like him to just have his share of the leader
ship. And of course, the Catholics aren't going to do that.
Now, there's a cardinal,Benelli, who really had been running the Curia.
And Benelli has been working on this very idea for a long time. Pope
Paul died finally; that's when I thought that maybe Benelli would get
in. Benelli maneuvered the voting in the Sistine Chapel. They elected
this man who took the name of John Paul I, names of the two preceding
popes put together. And then he died suddenly.
Now again, they elect a man who is not an Italian and who came from
behind the Iron Curtain--Poland. A Polish Pope. As I understand it,
from what information does leak out, Benelli was really trying to get
it this time for himself. And he got within two votes. In the mean
time, this man was elected the present pope and took the name of John
Paul II. But there are things about him. He is capable of springing
very sudden surprises, for one thing. He is a stickler for the old
traditional Roman religion. There're several things that indicate he
might_be the man.
Now, apparently Benelli did not manipulate this election to put him in,
but Benelli might have, when he saw he wasn't making it himself, tipped
the scale over to and thrown his votes to the pope who did get it.
There are two plans that have been made in Europe outside of the Vatican.
Dr. Otto von Habsburg of the Habsburg tradition in Austria also has one.
Actually, Dr. Habsburg's plan, in my judgment, comes the nearest of being
what they will adopt because we have biblical prophecy to go on it. And
we understand a little bit of what's going to happen from what is
revealed in the prophecies, especially in the seventeenth chapter of
Revelation. I felt that probably the plan, as it will finally mature,
would be that of Dr. Habsburg. The man put at the helm might be Franz
Josef Strauss.
One of the strongest leaders in Europe--they call him the "Strong Man
of Europe"--Franz Josef Strauss who has written his "grand design" of
uniting Europe. Now Strauss is not too old for the job. And, of course,
if we delay another ten years, he will be. If they should go ahead with
it and complete the union, or the resurrection of the so-called Holy
Roman Empire, he would probably be the--they might call him the emperor,
or whatever they call him--he would be over all ten nations.
But, of course, they know those things are in the Bible, but they shove
it to one side and it doesn't mean them, it means somebody else. That's
just the way it is when I say anything that is corrective in a sermon,
everybody sitting out there thinks, "Well, they didn't mean me. They
meant the person next to me." And of course, I don't. I mean that
person right there because I mean everybody. People don't like to take
it to themselves.