Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope Is Here

The Final Pope is Hear, Petrus Romanus by Thomas Horn and Chris Putnam is a remarkable book and a wonderful read. It starts with an obscure 800 year old catholic prophecy by Saint Malachy which is about the secession of popes, from his time to the very last pope (the next one after Pope Benedict). The Prophecy of the last pope is very grim and disturbing. Peter the Roman the last pope, it is said, will be the false prophet of the Bible, and he will lead the Roman Catholic Church and the worlds religions into accepting the antichrist as the messiah (Christ) and the church will be destroyed. I just told you the ending should you read this Book. YES!!! ITS A MUST READ!!!!!! In Horn and Putnam's Last pope they write an amazing book, its extremely engaging and riveting and they cover allot of History hear that you must know. Its remarkably researched. This book can help save you and your families live and even more impotently it can lead to your soul and you families being saved, if you are not one of Jesus' yet. If you are a Believer I urge you to read this and know it and tell others, if you are a unbeliever I urge you to read this even more so. take a chance its very inexpensive hear at amazon. In The Final Pope is Hear, Petrus Romanus by Thomas Horn and Chris Putnam We all will learn about the Hidden History behind the Prophecy of the Popes. Who really wrote it? When was it written, can can be proved or not proved? What did it say? is it true that it predicted the future to the letter? and we also learn about a 60 year old Jesuit codes that predict the arrival of The last pope in 2012. Could this all be true? If it is we are running out of time. We learn about the lost book of John Hogue, which is now found, and learn what he had to say about the last Pope. We also learn what Jonathan Edwards, a theological giant, and what he though about the last pope. Interesting and vital reading. I already gave away the ending so I want to leave some (really allot, this book is packed with information) for you to digest as you read. We will also learn what the movie rosemary's baby has to do with the Vatican and the worlds feature. We learn about the bizarre occult connection to the death of Father Edward Kunz and why he was killed. What did he know and do that got him killed. It was a gruesome death. We also Learn about the exorcists, theological, prolific writer and speaker Father Malachi Martin, who said that Lucifer was enthroned in the Vatican in 1963, in a satanic ceremony. Martin was a Priest who had a special commission from a pope which allowed him to say anything he wanted. He also was a regular guest on the old Coast to Coast show with Art Bel show he was a riveting guest and he also he died mysteriously. Fell down the stairs, or was he tripped? And What do the masons have to do with this? We also learn about the secrets of Fatima especially the so called 4th secret. What was Fatima. Was this a real event? a scam? Why is it important. Wil it domeone lead to the merger of Islam and Catholicism and all worlds religions to form a one world religion? Read and see. Star-gate, many have seen the sci fi movie and tv series. could star-gates rally be true? Read the book to see. What about the The lay out, building structure and artwork of the Vatican and Washington DC is it from the occult? If you are not in the know you are in for the shock of your life. Horn and Putnam do an incredible amount of research hear and they condense it down to close to 500 pages hear in this book. This is a must read for everyone. The last Pope may be hear this year and He may be the false prophet, He may help bring the antichrist into power. You had better be in the know. NOW 2014 is less then a Month away and THIS BOOK HAS BEEN COMPLETELY VINDICATED, Pope Benedict retired just when the authors said he wold. and Now we have a New Pope who is pushing marxists ideas over free markets, as predicted. For Catholics This book is based on CATHOLIC PROPHECIES. You need to wake up.

This book should be of interest to those concerned with end-times scenarios. Based on numerous sources not excluding pagan prophecies and the Bible, it is very definite about its prediction that 2012 is the year of the ascension to power of the Antichrist. I first encountered news of the title in May or June (it came out in April) but could not get a copy of it until now, when it's finally on Kindle. That I should bother with it at all could be cause for wonder. I read through the whole of it out of curiosity and am now convinced by its mountain of evidence and historical data, and even a little teary-eyed by the horrifying iniquities it outlines in great detail. I have never really believed that the Antichrist could be the Roman Catholic Pope, since purveyors of the idea have been American evangelists who barely scratched the historical surface and seemed to have nothing to go on except their prejudices. I have always thought that they were merely deflecting the finger away from their own beloved country. But Thomas Horn and Chris Putnam go through the whole history of the Roman Catholic Church not only from the so-called conversion (which they question) of Constantine but from Paul's evangelization efforts in Rome, as well as the dubious claim that Peter was its first bishop and died there. Page by excruciating page, they demonstrate how Benedict XVI, the current Pope, will give way either by resignation, natural death or murder to the last Pope, who will be the Antichrist. That Antichrist will likely, by their calculations, after overseeing the destruction of Rome according to Malachi's prophecy, transfer his headquarters to Jerusalem, where he will declare himself to be God. This the authors accomplish using the prophecy of Malachi, a Catholic bishop in the Middle Ages, the calculations of Rene Thibaut, a French Jesuit who wrote in 1951, and the more recent revelations of Malachi Martin, another Catholic (who was murdered after his allegations), as well as hundreds of other sources and documents. What really drew me to read the book thoroughly, however, was the authors' equally detailed history of Washington, D.C. Though they do not mention it, Washington, D.C., like Rome, sits on seven hills (as does Jerusalem and 57 other cities, for that matter). As I read more than a decade ago when I was researching for a course I taught on early American literature, most of the founding fathers of the United States were deists. Deists are people who believe that at one point, God left humanity to itself to make its own future. But that is not the end of it, although it's bad enough. The two authors specifically mention George Washington and Benjamin Franklin as not only deists, but Freemasons as well, with a very specific agenda for a far future that prophesies 2012 as their defining moment. In fact, they pinpoint the two key American political founders as firm believers in dark magic, sorcery and the Nimrod/Osiris/Apollo legend. The belief of Freemasons, contend the two authors, is that they birthed America for the purpose of giving rise in 2012 to the new Nimrod/Osiris/Apollo, who would become President of the New World Order. To effectuate such a rise, they built Washington D.C. on the same exact pattern as Rome, with an obelisk (the Washington Monument) facing the Capitol Dome (a replica of the Vatican main building which houses the Pope). It sounds weird on the surface, but if you read through the historical gamut of the two capitols in the book, you will begin to see that they are intricately bound together by very dark spiritual forces led through the ages by -- you guessed it -- the Freemasons, the Illuminati, or whatever else you may call them, who are today even more deeply ensconced in the Vatican and continue to ensure the sorcerous inauguration of the U.S. President. These dark spiritual forces are poised to impose, by the end of 2012, a New World Order which seems peaceful on the surface but actually creeps in on humanity's personal freedoms and, more objectionably, does so to forestall the Second Coming and millennial reign of Jesus Christ, which has always promised to bring about genuine peace together with personal freedoms. The book comes out with a rather convincing picture, if you ask me. For all its mountain of research and its commendable efforts to tie up this research with the Bible, however, the book has its flaws, and these are with regard to its eschatology. Thus, while it exceeds all other American evangelical "prophecies" in its admission of a U.S. role in the end-times (the others deny it vehemently, even going so far as to say that the U.S. is not in the Bible), it falters in seeing what the specific role of the U.S. is. One reason may be that, when the book was written earlier in the year, Obama seemed to be a goner as far his reelection was concerned. Romney was then a rising star and had virtually clinched the Republican nomination. Nevertheless, the authors proceeded with their thesis that Obama's actions after winning the 2008 elections showed an ambition to become the Apollonian apotheosis of George Washington as dreamed of by Freemasonry. The authors were not able to relate their analysis of Obama to their very carefully laid-out history of Washington D.C. If they had, they would have concluded that no matter who wins the U.S. election in 2012, even if it were Mitt Romney (a Mormon who like all Mormons think that the United States was designed to save the world), that winner will be a key figure in the era of the Antichrist, if not the political Antichrist himself (conceding the spiritual Antichrist to be the Roman Catholic Pope). But the failure may also be due, as I said, to an eschatological misreading. While they identify the woman clothed with the sun and topped by a crown of twelve stars in Revelation 12 as Israel and the dragon which persecutes her as the Roman Empire which morphed into the Vatican after Constantine, and while they also identify Mystery Babylon in Revelation 17 as, again, the Vatican, they are silent on the Beast in the latter. We must remember that Mystery Babylon sits on the Beast in Revelation 17. This beast is like none of the others described in both Daniel and the Revelation: it has seven heads and ten horns, "This calls for a mind with wisdom," says the angel who explains the beast to John: "The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction." (Rev 17:9-11) I often wonder how it is that today's prophets miss the fact that there was a G7 (Group of Seven) that became the G8 with the inclusion of Russia, and especially that the U.S. is and for a long time to come will still be at the head of this G8. As for the ten horns, the angel describes them in this way: "And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful." (Rev 17:12-14) Are not the Arabic nations of today, their oil interests interlocking with U.S./British/multinational corporations, part of the Beast? Are they not "of one mind"? Have they not, through their business interests and lack of military might, "hand(ed) over their power and authority to the beast"? Are they not making war on the Lamb? We must remember that this is not the end of the angel's description of the ten horns. He says further: "And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled." (Rev 17:16-17) If the prostitute, Mystery Babylon, is the Vatican as the authors say, and the Antichrist or last Pope is likely to transfer his headquarters to Jerusalem by ruse, would it not be logical that the ten horns, if they are the Arabic nations, hate her, and will sooner or later attack her whether in Rome or in Jerusalem, even if the Vatican makes a great show of ecumenism now and into the future? The truth is that while there is a Mystery Babylon, a spiritual Babylon personified by the Vatican, there has to be an eco-political Babylon because the Vatican by itself, without economic, political or military might, could only mesmerize the world through sorcery and not much else. And that eco-political Babylon could not but be the recognized capital of the multinational imperialist Beast headed by the United States, which in Revelation 18 burns down in an hour and is mourned by the merchants and sailors of the world. Why don't American evangelists admit its connection with 9/11? Why did everybody start seeing the Second Coming coming after 9/11, if they honestly did not see the connection? We must also remember that when Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, comes down from heaven with his host of angels and saints, He binds Satan and throws the Beast and the false prophet into the lake of fire and sulfur. The false prophet is described as the one "who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image." (Rev 19:20b) Wouldn't this more correctly be, as the authors themselves outline, the Vatican? And if so, wouldn't the Beast be, more correctly, the beast of economic and political conquest, the beast of empire, the beast of imperialism? Extending the question further, wouldn't the Antichrist then be, more accurately, the President of the United States who becomes the President of the World, Nimrod/Osiris/Apollo reborn? Or will the character of the Antichrist be shared between the U.S./World President and the last Pope? We have only a few months to know -- IF the analysis of the authors is correct. 2012 indeed, by all indications whether in current events or historical precedents as ably outlined by the authors, seems to be the year of the definitive appearance of the Antichrist. As to whether 2016 will be the year of the coming of the Lord, as hopefully enunciated also by the authors because it is within a 3½ year scheme, we should be less sure. After all, the "man in white linen," presumably Jesus Christ, told Daniel: "And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days." (Daniel 12:11-12) If the passage means that the time between the abolition of the regular burnt offering and the setting up of the abomination that makes desolate is 3.5 years more or less, and that we have but to wait one or two months after that (1,335 days is approximately 3.65 years), then perhaps we can say with relief that by 2016 the earth will joyfully be in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. But if the passage means that we have to wait another 3.65 years, then at the earliest, we can lay physical eyes on the Lord only in 2019. That will be after the 70th anniversary of the state of Israel, which is really more likely. Whichever, the only caveat is to be prepared -- through repentance, acceptance of Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, and purification and sanctification by His divine grace.

I started reading this book as soon as I heard that Pope Benedict XVI was going to retire. I knew from the beginning that it was not going to be "light reading" but I was determined to get everything out of it that I could. Now that the new pope, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected and has taken the name Pope Francis I, the 2012 edition of this book is almost out of date. I would like to respectfully request that the authors take the time to thoroughly review this very informative and interesting book and come up with a more up-to-date version as soon as possible. I am not one of those who believes that since the new pope is neither named Peter, nor is a Roman, that the Malachy Prophecies are somehow wrong or something to be dismissed. NO! These prophecies, first put to paper in 1139, have been amazingly accurate. Consider everything that Malachy said about the 112th and final pope on his list: Peter the Roman, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations, and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills [i.e. Rome] will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The End. In my opinion, after having read this entire book, the most significant thing about Pope Francis is that he is the FIRST JESUIT to be elected pope. Of course, the Jesuit Order did not exist in St. Malachy's time, so to determine if what he had to say about the 112th pope will be true will take time and careful examination. The Jesuits were created in 1540 to aggressively counteract Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation, which was in its infancy at that time. It is also known that Jesuits may have some affiliation with the Illuminati society, and are therefore proponents of a New World Order. The next edition of "Petrus Romanus," if there is to be one, should include a chapter on the Jesuits and of course some objectively researched and written biographical information on Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a.k.a. Pope Francis. And PLEASE, the next edition should have an index! Finally, a word of constructive criticism here. The editors of this work should thoroughly proof it for typos. There were quite a few in the first edition, which I suspect was put out in haste because it appeared that Pope Benedict XVI might resign as early as April of 2012. Now that Benedict is gone and the new pope has been elected, for good or ill, let's step back and watch this new papacy unfold. The accuracy of the Malachy Prophecies may be uncertain, but there is still the Book of Revelation to keep in mind. It still could be true that Pope Francis, at 76 years of age, is the last pope before our Lord Jesus Christ returns to rule and reign.

A very well-researched, but very dense read. It's definitely not "light reading". With over 700 footnotes and many, many quotations from other respected works, Petrus Romanus is jam packed with information. I found it a challenging read, despite the fact that I was raised Catholic (and was familiar with many of the dogmas, etc that were examined) and have been an evangelical Christian for over 20 years, and studied both the Bible and biblical prophecy for most of my life. I used the dictionary on my kindle a lot, as well as looking at the footnotes. It's a fantastic read, but certainly not for the faint of heart. We are living in exciting and terrifying times. If you are a practicing Catholic, you probably won't make it through the first chapter or two without getting deeply offended. But I would encourage you to read on if you can, even if only to take a look at what non-Catholic scholars think of the church and its history (many, many Catholic scholars and books are quoted as well.) As a former Catholic, I found the information and arguments to be very well researched and learned many new things (often in the Vatican's own words) that I was unaware of, despite spending most of my school days in Catholic schools. This was the first Thomas Horne book I have read and found it fascinating. It is very consistent with other books and teachings I've read on the Bible, free masonry, and the end times. Not all will agree with the authors, but I don't think anyone can deny the lengths they went through to back up their claims with the words of the very people and organizations they are examining. A word of encouragement to those who make it 3/4 of the way through the book on the Kindle- you're almost done! Almost 1/4 of the book is footnotes. Of course, that will probably just lead to more reading, as there are many outstanding books they listed as references and quoted from in their material. Additional note to add: The only thing I thought was missing from this book was a look at Revelations 1-3, which are Jesus' letters to the churches. One of particular interest is the letter to Thyatira and the condemnation of its worship of "the Queen of Heaven". This church is promised to be taken straight into the Great Tribulation. Many scholars have tied this letter directly to the Catholic church. For a great, line-by-line analysis of these letters, check out Chuck Missler's commentaries on the Book of Revelation.

The book was an interesting read, no question about it. And the material that went into it was certainly exhaustively researched. In fact, almost 'over-researched'. Sorting thru all the 'data' contained in the book was at times like reading a PhD thesis. The glaring 'achilles heel', in 'Petrus Romanos' is, to me twofold: (1. all the 'prophetic eggs' for the book stem from an extra-biblical 'prophecy' or 'vision' which is, at the very least questionable, made by an Iris Catholic monk over 800 years ago! From my viewpoint, the authors spend WAY too much time and effort attempting to validate this 'prophecy' (which as I mentioned may be little more than apocryphal 'folklore') in an attempt to give some weight and merit to their book. The 2nd serious 'hurdle' for 'Petrus Romanos' is that even though the authors make the disclaimer that 'nobody knows the day or hour' that the anti christ sets up his kingdom, or the 7 year tribulation period begins, this book DOES, indeed, point to either 2012 0r 2015 for the revelation of the False Prophet, Petrus Romanus, the final Pope. Combine that with the fact the authors point to other mystical belief systems (including the Mayan calendar and OTHER pagan beliefs),that point to 2012 as a 'pivotal' year for one epoch ending and a new one beginning, and one comes away with the strong impression that the authors are, indeed, attempting to do some 'date setting' AND, possibly, have written the book to 'capitalize' on the '2012 craze'. Also woven throughout the book are the author's research into the secret Masonic order, and their belief the Masons have infiltrated and subverted both the Roman Catholic church AND the United States government, at the highest levels. Many interesting observations are made concerning Masonic symbols on American government architecture in Washington, D.C., the many presidents of the U.S.who have been Masons, and even the Masonic 'pyramid' with the 'eye of Osiris' on the American $1.00 bill. We are getting into 'conspiracy hog heaven' in this part of the book, and, frankly, the attempt of the authors to link the Catholic Church with a 'New World Order' masonic plot, headquartered in the United States, to 'take over the world' did not 'jell' for me. I firmly believe that we are in the days of Matthew 24 and Revelation 13, and that the time is SHORT...but my advice for anyone who wants to know what the near future holds prophetically is read your Bible, and get to know it like you never have before, and then ask the Lord to show you what these things mean. "The testimony of Jesus IS the Spirit of Prophecy".

Don't be misled by the title of this book. The prophecy of the popes is not the focus. It is at best a sub theme of the book. This book is a breathtaking, scholarly and far reaching examination of eschatological developments up to present times. Although it is mainly grounded on a biblical foundation, it draws on both biblical and extra biblical sources - for instance catholic, protestant, jewish, islamic, native American, new age, Satanic and masonic - and highlights the extraordinary convergence between these disparate eschatological data. The prophecy of the Popes is merely one datum among many. The authors contend that all these disparate eschatological data are pointing to the same conclusion - that 2012 marks a pivotal transition to a "new age" in which final events will take place. Most of us will have the "privilege" of living through these times and seeing whether these prophecies are confirmed or falsified within the next few years. Although the authors declare from the outset that their work is polemic in nature (i.e. championing the Protestant Christian viewpoint), they have nevertheless dealt with the subject matter in a consistently scholarly and objective way. There is little hint of the hysteria and sensationalism which one would expect from a book about the endtimes. However, I should warn you, that their scholarly approach also makes this book not one of the easiest to read. It is dense with information and extensive quotations (which, with over 700 footnotes, further highlights the authors' dedication to objectivity). The authors refuse to simplify things but rather insist on taking the reader by the long, "scenic" route. For instance you will be treated to a long exposition on Vatican political intrigues. I think this book does require the reader to have some background knowledge of the bible in order to fully appreciate what the authors are trying to say. Whereas I do have a solid background in the bible, I had to climb a steep learning curve with regards to the discussions on the occult/masonic history of the USA, native american mythology, the history of anti-semitism and Catholic theology, things which I knew little about. Personally, this book came into my hands rather providentially as I have been struggling with the the bible, particularly the prophetic teachings, in recent months, to the point where I wondered whether the book of Revelations should be taken seriously at all. This book answered a bunch of my questions, fit a lot of pieces of the jigsaw in place and taught me a correct exegetical approach to these questions. Lastly, what you read in this book will unsettle you. So, if you do not wish to have your comfortable paradigms disturbed, then whatever you do DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! Live your life "eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage" and don't let Petrus Romanus haunt your dreams. P.S. The authors have been assiduous in collating eschatological data which point to 2012 being a pivotal year, however, they seem to have missed an obvious one - In East Asian traditions, 2012 is the astrological year of the Dragon and 2013 is the astrological year of the Snake.

This book consists of nearly 500 pages of conspiracy theory that would be equally at home at a showing of the Zeitgeist movie. The central claim is that there is a hint of an end to come in an obscure little "prophecy" attributed to an 1100s century bishop, St. Malachy, which gives us "predictions" that once the current Pope, Benedict XVI, takes his last breath as pope, the one after that will be the last of the papal line -- and perhaps even (gasp) the false prophet who will usher in the age of the Antichrist. I put "predictions" in quotes because these aren't "predictions" at all -- they're just very short Latin phrases, usually 2-3 words each, and with that length there is as much hard content as a bowl of Jello. The authors have the sense to admit that critics say the phrases are vague enough to be twisted to be seen as fulfilled in anything. [42-3] They even allow that this is a "major weakness" and that only a few of the prophecies are precise enough to pass the test. The bad news for them is that their best examples are far worse than they realize. Here are some examples. Leo XIII, 1878-1903 - Phrase: "lumen in caelo," "light in the sky." "Light in the sky" could mean just about anything, and that should really be enough to dismiss this one as worthless. But the authors excite themselves with the observation that Leo's coat of arms "features a shooting star." Since Leo had this coat of arms long before being pope, they believe this is particularly impressive and a "compelling fulfillment." Sorry, no. The vagueness of the motto is shown in that other sources, like the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia, read it rather as fulfilled in calling Leo a "veritable luminary of the papacy" and specifically states that we don't need to bother with things like a coat of arms. Another Catholic site sees a fulfillment this way: "Leo XIII wrote encyclicals on Catholic social teaching that were still being digested 100 years later. He added considerably to theology." Obviously, if the motto is vague enough to accommodate such diverse readings, it is worthless as a "prophecy." And of course, many popes could be vaguely described as "a veritable luminary" (for whatever reason) rendering such a description equally worthless. The authors' rendition of a shooting star is likewise unhelpful. What escaped them on this point is that stars -- or, as they are sometimes called, estioles -- are standard symbols for a coat of arms, just as they are standard symbols for national flags. Leo has one. John Paul I (1978) had three stars of five points each. Pius X, the predecessor of Leo XIII, had one star, as did Gregory XVI (1831-46) -- and so did several other popes. Some others had more than one star; some had none.One could also readily connect this to one of several comets discovered during Leo's reign -- even those not visible in his area, such as the "Comet Wells" in 1882. Benedict XV (1914-1922) - Phrase: "religio depopulata" (religion depopulated) For this one, the authors figure they have an ace in the hole with the fact that during Benedict's reign, the following happened: "World War I was devastating to the Catholic Church", though how this is so is not explained, nor is it explained how the war was any more or less "devastating" to the Catholic Church than to any other body or group. The prediction means very little unless "religion" was specially and uniquely "depopulated." 200 million people left the Russian Orthodox Church, having either left to join the Bolshevik revolution or been killed or persecuted by Communists. The authors cite figures of 43 million killed by Stalin, and 61 million killed by the Soviet Union. Their conclusion: Religion was "heavily depopulated during this period" and the prophecy offers "breathtaking accuracy." Once again, the vagueness of the terms causes a problem. The authors have allowed "religion" to be so vague as to encompass more than one religious tradition, which means all one would have to do is to find, during any papal reign, some instance of some religion, somewhere, suffering "depopulation" -- such as 7 million Jews in the WW2 era, or perhaps a million in Rwanda; or one might even appeal to Muslim deaths in the Iran-Iraq war. Then, there's a real slipperiness, also, with "this period", where the 200 million figure doesn't add up. It was hard to get accurate figures in this turbulent time when there was little means to conduct a rigorous census, but sources I have consulted place the population of Russia in 1914-1917 in the lower 100 millions. Furthermore, Stalin ruled and did his deathly work well after the reign of Benedict. As such, it seems patently dishonest to use deaths from outside Benedict's reign to fulfill this one. One Catholic site also uses the Bolshevik revolution as a fulfillment, but only because it established Communism, not because of deaths, while another conspiracy theorist connects the motto also to millions of Christians being killed by the Spanish flu! Pius XII (1939-1958) - Phrase: "pastor angelicus" (angelic shepherd). There is tremendous irony in this one. The authors uncritically accept the badly debunked findings of John Cornwell that Pius XII was too chummy with the Nazis, and so end up suggesting, rather lamely, that since Pius claimed the title for himself, it must be an "ironic sort of fulfillment." So, now they have made it so that even a complete 180 of the phrase can be a "fulfillment"? In that light, Pius' real record as a benefactor to persecuted Jews actually does make a better fit for "angelic shepherd" -- not that it matters, since any pope with a decent heart could have fit this as well, and many of them would qualify. However, we may be thankful that the authors did foul up so badly by using Cornwell, since it helps expose their poor research skills, and their ability to strain and stretch the Malachy mottoes to the breaking point in order to force a "fulfillment." John XXIII (1958-1963) - Phrase: "pastor & nauta" (sailor and shepherd). Half of this prophecy dies a painful death since every pope could be called a "shepherd" in their very role as pope. So, can we find that John was ever in the navy somewhere? Or, maybe the merchant marines? Not even close. The authors strain for a match by noting that John was the "patriarch of Venice," where there are a lot of gondolas and a "nautical street system" (apparently meaning the canals). If that's the way they want to play it, then any port city overseen by the papal candidate at some time in his career would make them qualify, and they don't even have to get on the water for a split second to make this work. John wasn't a sailor, and if being "patriarch of Venice" fulfills this prophecy, then I too fulfilled it by having North Miami Beach as my hometown. Or, it could be fulfilled by getting a nice anchor tattoo that says MOTHER, or even eating a lot of spinach to funny music. The authors underline their own gullibility by telling an uncertain story of how one papal candidate allegedly hired a boat, stuck some sheep on it, and rode up and down the Tiber River on it as a way to demonstrate a fulfillment to the papal conclave. This ought to be a warning to the authors (but it isn't) that a living pope, with only rare exceptions, has more than enough time to figure out a way to make himself an "intrepid fire" or a "light in the sky", or to fulfill any number of other conditions. It also does not occur to the authors that the papal conclave (for whatever reason thinking these mottos meant anything) purposely chose a man from a port city to strain a fulfillment. Finally, regarding John XXIII, it is worth nothing that he was only patriarch of Venice for 5 years, from 1953 to 1958. He was born in a mountain city of Italy. He spent a lot of time in that area and also spent some time in Bulgaria. If this "prophecy" can be fulfilled by spending any amount of time in a port city, it is just that much more worthless. I imagine Horn and Putnam would be little impressed, no more so than Whisenant or Camping were when elements of their case were debunked. They would say we are missing the forest for the trees, and that their case was more complex (though we'll take on more aspects as we proceed with this series), or come up with some other sort of holier-than-thou threats of the wait-and-see variety. Well, we will wait and see ... and when Horn and Putnam find themselves on the ash heap of history, along with Whisenant and Camping, I'm sure we'll also see the same sort of skilled rationalization we got from those characters.

Fantastic book eye opening. Great information and solidly researched.