Subtitle: Universal salvation and Anonymous Christianity are the beginnings of the labor pains (Matt. 24:8).

Excerpt: Universal salvation and Anonymous Christianity are the beginnings of the labor pains (Matt. 24:8).

Author: Jeff Hilles

The book of Revelation speaks of the coalescing of all the religions of the world into a single false doctrine, a One World Religion, in combination with the consolidation of international currencies (One World Currency) and authority (One World Government). Many Christians view the last fulfilled Biblical prophecy, prior to the Rapture of the church, as the formation of the Jewish state of Israel in 1948 (details here). Under that theological framework, we are looking for signs of God closing down His earthly kingdom and ultimately ushering in the New Heaven and the New Earth. 

Volumes of books and hundreds of theologian lifetime careers have been dedicated to the short paragraph above. To narrow the whole of End-Time events down to a single aspect, do we see the beginnings of a One World Religion? When viewed through the lens of the largest “Christian” denomination in the world, Roman Catholicism, the answer would seem to be yes. 

It is worth noting that in December of 2022, Pew Research published a survey showing that 39% of US adults believe we are “living in the end times” (details here).

Challenges with the Book of Revelation

The book of Revelation, with its focus on prophesy and apocalyptic imagery, has been the source of confusion and controversary since it was written. This is due largely to its use of symbolism which can mean different things in different places in the text. Adding to its complexity, the book does not always present a consistent timeline of events when moving from chapter to chapter (details here). Though the book of Revelation is one of the primary sources predicting humanity’s ending, even Jesus, while on earth, was not privy to God’s (the Father) ultimate timeframe (Matthew 24:36) and nor are we (Matthew 25:13), details here.

What we do know is that our world will end (2 Peter 3:10), and there is a degree of consensus that one of the mega-trends towards that endpoint is the deconstruction of world religions in order to advance a single, unified theology, or One World Religion. The underlying supernatural satanic strategy is that the world will ultimately worship not our Christian God, nor the gods of any other religion, but the Beast, who will be the world leader, also know as the Antichrist, under the control of the dragon, or Satan (details here). The final person of this evil triumvirate is the False Profit, leader of the One World Religion.

Revelation 17:1-18

Throughout the Old Testament, the term “harlot”, or other translations, “prostitute”, is often used to describe false religions (details here). In the case of Rev. 17:1, the term used is, “the great prostitute”, a reference to an individual who is the leader of the One World Religion (Rev. 17:5, “mother of prostitutes”).

“Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters,  with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” - Rev. 17:1b-2 

The symbolism of those who have become drunk with immorality is a reference to worldwide turning away from the Biblical Christian God. The sin is not sexual in nature but idolatry, the worship of idols.

And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. - Revelation 17:3

The “scarlet beast” refers to the Antichrist, who initially will use the unifying nature of a One World Religion to bring about a One World Government under his control. The “seven heads and ten horns” are later defined as the leaders under the Antichrist, ruling the nations of the world.

And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I marveled greatly. - Revelation 17:6

There is graphic imagery of the persecution of the “saints” who were martyred for resisting the False Prophet and his unified religion.

This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; - Revelation 17:9

Many Christian theologians believe this is a reference to Rome, which is located on seven hills. Others believe the number seven represents the major groupings of nations under the control of the Antichrist (Rev. 17:10).

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, - Revelation 17:16

The “ten horns” are the sub leaders under the Antichrist and once the world is unified under a common religion, it will be rejected, “hated”, and replaced with the worship of the Antichrist himself.

Other Verses in the Bible that Reference a One World Religion and the False Prophet

And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. - Revelation 16:13

And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet 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. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. - Revelation 19:20

And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. - Revelation 20:10

The Pope’s Announcement in September of 2024

During a three-day visit to Singapore, Pope Francis delivered a message to an interfaith group, offering his views on the unity of the religions of the world that all lead to a single, Catholic, God. Quoting from that speech…

“They are like different languages in order to arrive at God, but God is God for all. Since God is God for all, then we are all children of God… There’s only one God, and each of us has a language to arrive at God. Some are Sheik, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, and they are different paths [to God].”

There was a strong backlash from conservative Catholic leadership (details here), trying to reconcile the Bible’s view on the necessity of Christ being the cornerstone of our faith, the deity rejected by many of the other faith traditions.

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, - 1 Thessalonians 5:9

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 6:23

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. - John 3:17

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him [Jesus Christ], were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, - Ephesians 1:13

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” - Acts 4:12

Deeper Into Catholic Doctrine

Of course, this recent admission of Pope Francis was a shock to many in the Catholic faith. However, digging deeper, this view that those who sincerely desire to follow God can be saved, even if they do not understand the dependence we must have on Jesus Christ, is found in the 2003 Catholic Catechism, second edition (details here).

Theologians Catechism #846 clearly states (full text here)…

“…all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body…the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism”

However, that statement is immediately followed by Catechism #847…

“This affirmation [#846] is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church: Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience – those too may achieve eternal salvation.”

Anonymous Christianity

Going even farther back in Catholic doctrine is the theological concept of those who have never heard or accepted the gospel message, still being able to obtain salvation as Christians, even if they don’t know they are Christians. Karl Rahner (details here), a Jesuit theologian proposed that…

“Anonymous Christianity means that a person lives in the grace of God and attains salvation outside of explicitly constituted Christianity… Let us say, a Buddhist monk… who, because he follows his conscience, attains salvation and lives in the grace of God; of him I must say that he is an anonymous Christian; if not, I would have to presuppose that there is a genuine path to salvation that really attains that goal, but that simply has nothing to do with Jesus Christ. But I cannot do that. And so, if I hold if everyone depends upon Jesus Christ for salvation, and if at the same time I hold that many live in the world who have not expressly recognized Jesus Christ, then there remains in my opinion nothing else but to take up this postulate of an anonymous Christianity.”

This form of universal salvation was not limited to the private views of a priest. Anonymous Christianity was taught in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, dating all the way back to 1995 (details here).

“The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day… Those who no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience—those too may achieve eternal salvation.”

Further expansion of this concept of Anonymous Christianity can be seen in a papal document, Dominus Iesus, published in 2000 (details here). Pertinent excerpts  include…

“Nevertheless, God, who desires to call all peoples to himself in Christ and to communicate to them the fullness of his revelation and love, “does not fail to make himself present in many ways, not only to individuals, but also to entire peoples through their spiritual riches, of which their religions are the main and essential expression even when they contain ‘gaps, insufficiencies and errors'”. Therefore, the sacred books of other religions, which in actual fact direct and nourish the existence of their followers, receive from the mystery of Christ the elements of goodness and grace which they contain.” (I, 8)

“Theology today, in its reflection on the existence of other religious experiences and on their meaning in God’s salvific plan, is invited to explore if and in what way the historical figures and positive elements of these religions may fall within the divine plan of salvation. In this undertaking, theological research has a vast field of work under the guidance of the Church’s Magisterium. The Second Vatican Council, in fact, has stated that: “the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude, but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a participation in this one source”.” (III, 14)

“With respect to the way in which the salvific grace of God — which is always given by means of Christ in the Spirit and has a mysterious relationship to the Church — comes to individual non-Christians, the Second Vatican Council limited itself to the statement that God bestows it “in ways known to himself”.” (VI, 21)

Conclusion

Pope Francis’s statements in September of 2024 (another reference here) would seem to be in line with the Catechism published in 1995 and 2003, along with the papal document from 2000. There remains an illusion that the “Mystery of Christ” can be seen in all religions such that all mankind has the ability to be saved by sincerely following their god or gods. This teaching is diabolical because it suggests Jesus remains the solution to sin but is also universal since even those who don’t know Him or even reject Him can be saved as Anonymous Christians.

This universal view of man’s desire to connect with the supernatural as a pathway to the same God would seem to fit perfectly into the paradigm of a One World Religion found in Scripture. However, the truth is…

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:6.

To be saved, one must…

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9

That cannot be done by those who do not know or choose to reject the God of the Bible. Universal salvation is not Biblical…

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. - Matthew 7:13-14