Some days ago, Pope Francis along with two other main leaders in Christianity came together for a joint message on the climate. “Listen to the cry of the earth”, they said, as they call for action from the world leaders and all inhabitants of the world. This joint statement is made by Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury.

Pope & Christian Leaders “Joint Message for the protection of Creation”

Just for the record, let’s quickly look at how influential these leaders are:

• Francis is the head of the Roman Catholic Church, which has 1.3 billion-members
• Bartholomew is the spiritual leader of the Orthodox Church, with about 220 million members.
• Welby is the senior bishop of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which has about 85 million members.

A Call Against Climate Change

The ”Joint Message for the Protection of Creation” is a call for action against climate change. They state: “As world leaders prepare to meet in November at Glasgow to deliberate on the future of our planet, we pray for them and consider what the choices we must all make. Accordingly, as leaders of our Churches, we call on everyone, whatever their belief or worldview, to endeavour to listen to the cry of the earth and of people who are poor, examining their behaviour and pledging meaningful sacrifices for the sake of the earth which God has given us.”

Pope Francis has taken clear stands and made appeals before on this topic. In his famous encyclical from 2015, Pope Francis addressed a message to “every person living on this planet”, urging us to make improvements for the climate. One of his solutions for this was to keep Sunday as a way of healing “our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world”. Furthermore, he said that Sunday “motivates us to greater concern for nature and the poor”. Since then, he has kept calling the world to come together.

Uniting the world and Bible Prophecy

For many Bible students, what is happening in the world today, are clear signs of Jesus’ soon coming. The first beast of Revelation 13, the antichrist, represents no other than the Catholic Church. No other system or person fulfills all the criteria that the Bible gives. It is prophesied that this power will be instrumental in uniting the world. Looking at the great authority this power has gained the last century, this prophecy is getting closer to its complete fulfillment.

A Call for a New World Order – Economical & Social

Back to the joint statement. Interestingly, it goes on to say:
“Over the course of the pandemic, we have learned how vulnerable we are. Our social systems frayed, and we found that we cannot control everything. We must acknowledge that the ways we use money and organize our societies have not benefited everyone. We find ourselves weak and anxious, submersed in a series of crises; health, environmental, food, economic and social, which are all deeply interconnected.”

In other words, they call for the need of a reformation connected with money and organization of the world. As prophecy says, the day is at hand when “All the world marveled, and followed the beast” (Revelation 13:3). Later in the same chapter, this prophecy is indicating a control over economy/business, as one will only be able to do buy and sell, if one receives the mark of the beast.

And guess what – these guys want change! So, what do these Christian leaders suggest?

They say: “But this involves making changes. Each of us, individually, must take responsibility for the ways we use our resources. This path requires an ever-closer collaboration among all churches in their commitment to care for creation. Together, as communities, churches, cities and nations, we must change route and discover new ways of working together to break down the traditional barriers between peoples, to stop competing for resources and start collaborating.”

This is a clear call to all world leaders, to all nations and people to come together and act. And it is significant that it comes through a joint statement by three of the world’s biggest Christian leaders.

“Importance of Global Cooperation”

“This is the first time that the three of us feel compelled to address together the urgency of environmental sustainability, its impact on persistent poverty, and the importance of global cooperation. Together, on behalf of our communities, we appeal to the heart and mind of every Christian, every believer and every person of good will. We pray for our leaders who will gather in Glasgow to decide the future of our planet and its people….

All of us—whoever and wherever we are—can play a part in changing our collective response to the unprecedented threat of climate change and environmental degradation.”

Pope Francis’ Climate Agenda – The Mark of the Beast?

I agree that we need to take care of the earth that God has given to us. Nevertheless, only on God’s premises. In the Pope’s climate agenda, he includes the keeping of Sunday. He is not alone in this. There are climate initiatives that supports this idea.

I have one big problem with this. I will give you an example from a Catholic source:

“Protestants … accept Sunday rather than Saturday as the day for public worship after the Catholic Church made the change… But the Protestant mind does not seem to realize that … in observing Sunday, they are accepting the authority of the spokesman for the Church, the pope.” Our Sunday Visitor, February 5th, 1950.

In fact, to Catholics, Sunday keeping is their mark of authority. They say:

”Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act. And the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters.” C. F. Thomas, Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons, in answer to a letter regarding the change of the Sabbath, November 11, 1895.

The persecutions that this prophetic power did through the dark ages, will be repeated again in the future. Revelation 13 makes that clear. The world will be forced into false worship, contrary to God’s ten commandments, as the mark of the beast is being set up. Only a small group will remain faithful to God. Those who refuse will finally not be able to buy or sell. Ultimately, they will be threatened with death. Do you wonder what the mark of the beast will be, when it will be mandated? Well, this power just admitted it themselves – they said that their mark is the institution of Sunday as a day of rest.

The War on Worship

The ten commandments are telling us that God made the seventh day holy – the Sabbath or Saturday. This is the only commandment where God said remember. The seventh day in several countries, are still Saturday today. Other countries have changed the seventh day to be Sunday, only within the last decades. And you know what, God calls His Sabbath a sign between Himself and His people (Ezekiel 20:12).

In the book of Revelation, God makes it clear that His commandments are still valid, and the fourth commandment tells us to remember to keep the Sabbath holy. This makes it a loyalty issue.

Revelation 14:12: Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Who do you obey – people of the world, or God Himself?

Do not be fooled. This is only the beginning. Hold fast to the faith of Jesus.