At his general audience, Pope Leo XIV once again demonstrated what Babylonian wine can actually look and taste like. He slightly reinterpreted the final acts on the cross, before Jesus’ death, and thus completely omitted or traditionally denied the core message of Jesus’ healing work.
Inhalt / Content
A story told differently
It’s the little things that make the difference, or rather, if you want to tell a different story, then even the details have to be changed. At his general audience on September 10, 1925, Pope Leo XIV spoke about the face of God, which is fully recognizable in the suffering Jesus Christ on the cross. (Source).
Jesus’ final actions before His crucifixion and what happened afterward can be read, for example, in the Book of Matthew, Chapter 27. Even these few lines are enough to cast a major question mark over the Pontiff’s statements. Pope Leo clearly placed a strong emphasis in his speech on Jesus’ final cry on the cross before He died. The connections the Pontiff identified describe a cry of hope, of giving, of a spiritual gesture, of faith in a listener that touches hearts and is never meaningless.
Babylonian wine
Jesus cried out, the Pontiff said, to give all that remained to him, “all his love, all his hope.” Now, it’s obvious that hope is necessary when one desires something but isn’t assured of its attainment. Jesus Christ, God incarnate, had explained to His disciples (at least) three times that He would die and rise again on the third day. Therefore, the question arose: “Hope for or for what?” Sinful man has every reason to hope because of Jesus’ saving act. But what does God “hope” for?
“Carried our pain”
Leo describes his very own view of the final scenes on the cross as follows:
“At that moment, the sky darkens and the veil of the temple is torn (cf. Mk 15:33,38). As is as if creation itself was participating in that pain, and at the same time revealing something new. God no longer dwells behind a veil – his face is now fully visible in the Crucified One. It is there, in that broken man, that the greatest love manifests itself. It is there that we can recognize a God who does not remain distant, but who traverses our pain to the very end.“
What the Gospel says
The curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom after Jesus gave up the spirit. In this case, some background knowledge is needed to determine which curtain is meant and where it was located. What was still the tabernacle in the early days of Israel eventually culminated in the Temple in Jerusalem, the holy place of God where the sacrificial rituals were performed. This curtain separated the inner areas of the “Holy Place” and the “Most Holy Place.”
Which curtain, for what?
In the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle was the Ark of the Covenant with the mercy seat (lid), symbolizing the seat of God and His law. The Ark contained the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments (Details of the Tabernacle).
The Holy of Holies was entered only once a year, and only by the High Priest, on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur, 10 of Tishri). For this, the High Priest was required to thoroughly (spiritually) purify himself. He had to repent and offer sacrifices so that he could enter the Holy of Holies without tainting sin and without blemish. Otherwise, the High Priest would not have survived God’s presence. The glory of God cannot survive a sinful, impure being. Hence the veil.
Similarly, when Moses asked God to reveal His face, he was first led into a protective cleft in the rock and covered by God’s protective hand. Thus shielded, Moses was only allowed to gaze upon the passing Lord when He could only be seen from behind (Exodus 33:21-23). However, Moses received a “good portion” of God’s glory, for his face shone when he came down from the mountain (Exodus 34:29).
God, or rather, His seat in the temple, was not behind the curtain to hide Himself as if behind a veil, as Pope Leo portrays, but because sinful man must be protected from His glory. God is not a “secretist.” Everything relevant to mankind and his salvation is revealed openly and straightforwardly by the Lord through His prophets. Everything He does not reveal to us is none of our business (e.g., John 21:22).
With the tearing of the temple curtain, the sacrificial rituals ended. Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb, had sacrificed Himself with His blood(!). Thus, the (symbolic) sacrifices in the temple were no longer necessary.
Sin totally “forgotten”
Yes, Jesus suffered unspeakable things. Mockery and scorn from the High Council, the elders, and the Pharisees; Jesus was beaten and spat upon. This was followed by His rejection by the people crying “Barabbas,” ultimately by the scourging, renewed humiliation, and crucifixion until death. Indeed, Jesus endured pain to the end. But it was not a vicarious assumption of “our pain,” but rather the consequence of assuming our sins! A fact that the Roman Catholic Church persistently denies.
According to the teachings of the Catholic Church, Jesus’ death was unnecessary for the forgiveness of sins. “Shedding blood for the forgiveness of sins? Nope!” On this, the “saint” and “doctor of the Church” Alphonsus Liguori said:
“It was not necessary for the Redeemer to die in order to save the world; a drop of his blood, a single tear, or prayer, was sufficient to procure salvation for all; […] But to institute the priesthood, the death of Jesus Christ has been necessary.” (further statements from the church)
Thus, according to the Church of Rome, Jesus died to establish the (Catholic) priesthood, not to save the world from sin. And the primary task of these priests is to sacrifice Jesus Christ again and again. In other words, to keep the one who died on the cross in death, if possible.
Leo was right about one thing
A “swoony speech” from the Pope, intended to move people’s hearts. Indeed, it does, but in the opposite direction. Not a word about sin and forgiveness, about repentance and contrition, and especially about the true reason for Jesus’ self-sacrifice. A lot of words and almost as much lies packaged as the gospel.
This is exactly what Babylonian wine tastes like, this is what it looks like.
Pope Leo was even right with one statement in his speech:
“It is a way to not give in to cynicism, to continue to believe that another world is possible.“
Here, it’s simply a question of position. And yes, the other world is not only possible, but it will also come. However, it will be “somewhat different” than what the Church of Rome teaches. With the disappearance of the dragon, the Beast, and the false prophet, the cynicism expressed by the Pontiff will also be a thing of the past. And no one, no one, will remember them anymore. Erased.
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Revelation 19:20
Bible verses from King James Version (1611)
Deutsch
English
