The Lateran Pacts of 1929 are highly important for students of prophecy. For they mark the resolution of the Roman Question , which soured relations between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 (when Papal States were annexed) until 1929. The Italians were not content with annexing the Papal States. They needed Rome to serve as the Capital of their newly established state. In 1870 conditions were ripe and conducive for annexing Rome, and it was declared capital of united Italy. This led to the popes' voluntary self-exile. For how could any pope, they argued, fulfill his ministerial duties globaly as the leader of the global Roman Catholic Church, and be himself a citizen subject to the laws and rules on his country? The Lateran Pacts of 1929 solved the 68-year old Roman Question , and aknowledged the Pope as the superme monarch (king) over the Vatican City in Rome (city-state within the City of Rome). Thus from that time time in history, the pope took on the additional title of a king.
The Lateran Pacts contained three sections—the Treaty of Conciliation (27 articles) which established Vatican City as an independent state, thereby restoring the civil sovereignty of the Pope as an absolute monarch (king), the Financial Convention annexed to the treaty (3 articles) which compensated the Holy See for loss of the papal states, and the Concordat (45 articles), which governed the Roman Catholic Church's ecclesiastical relations with the Italian State.
An Agreement Between the Italian Republic and the Holy See amended the Lateran Pacts in 1985.
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The Lateran Pacts are very important for students of prophecy. The great point of interest for those of us who are keen to understand Revelation 17 is the fact that Lateran Pacts have established the popes for the first time in history as absolute monarchs (kings) over a very small part of Rome. Chapter 17 tells that there will only be 7 kings/popes. And the end of all things will happen during the reign of the Eighth. If we count the popes who have ruled from 1929 we find that we are living in the reign of the seventh king/pope, Benedict XVI. Verse 10 of the same chapter tells us that his reign will be of short duration.
This means that we are very close to the end of his reign and beginning of the reign of the Eighth and the last, and who will be the beast that will bring about the final conflict, when he succeeds in enlisting the help of the USA to impose a universal Sunday Law.
The origin of the Eighth is very significant. The chapter tells us that the Eighth will come from the bottomless pit. It is known in the Bible that the bottomless pit (or the deep, both of which are translated from same Greek word Abusos) is the abode of Satan's fallen devils. And since the Eighth will also be one of the seven, the only acceptable conclusion for this divine riddle is that Eighth (a fallen angel) will be impersonating one of the seven popes/kings. We are not left to guess which of the seven kings/popes the Eighth will impersonate. For a divine hint has been given us when Apostle John was taken in vision for the events of chapter 17 by the angel, he was actually taken to the reign of the Sixth (and one is ), who happens to be John Paul II. It is not hard to see why Satan has chosen #6 to be the pope that will be impersonated by one of his angels. For he is the most loved and known pope in modern history.
He is also the pope who demanded civil laws to make Sunday a day of rest for all. But what he could not do when he was alive he will succeed to do when he gets "resurrected." For world leaders will be deceived into believing that he has been sent down from heaven, or "resurrected" back from the dead, with divine roadmap which will bring back properity, solve the world's intractable problems, and restore world piece. All this will be promised upon the passage of the Universal Sunday Law. The Bible tells us in verse 13 that world leaders will swallow the bait and will cave in and pass this unprecedented Universal Sunday Law, first in the land of freedom, the USA, a law which will be copied by every country in the world.
This anti-God law (for it challenges God's designated day of worhsip, the seventh day of the week), will trigger crisis of ages, and will split the world into two camps only: commandments breakers (the overwhelming majority) and commandments keepers ( a very tiny minority).
It is the mission of World's Last Chance to raise awareness of end-time events and to urge His people to set their life in order, and to allow Him to complete His work on our hearts, so that we will be by His grace ready to stand blameless and faultless when He comes again to claim His people.
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