More Trouble in the Vatican/Healing Power of Creation

More Trouble in the Vatican

Pope Francis is known around the globe as an emissary for peace and an advocate for embattled people everywhere. However, the pope has now become the focus of accusations related to the ongoing sex abuse scandals that appear to reach the highest levels of the church (New York Times, August 28, 2018).
In a recently published “testimony,” U.S. Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò accused numerous Vatican high officials of complicity in cover-ups related to sex crimes. Some of the cover-up implicates the pope and suggests he placed politics above the safety of his flock. Viganò’s accusations also point a finger at the pope’s predecessor, Benedict XVI. The Archbishop even went so far as to call for the resignation of the current pope. One journalist referred to Viganò’s “testimony” as “the most important Catholic news story since the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI” (Catholic Culture.org, August 28, 2018).
But will the current crisis within the Catholic church lead to its demise? On the contrary, Bible prophecy reveals that just before Jesus Christ returns to this earth, a powerful religious figure will come on the scene in Europe performing “great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven” (Revelation 13:11–17). This influential religious leader will be aligned with a great world church known as the “Mother of Harlots” (Revelation 17:5), and this religious leader will “ride the beast”—a political power with links to the ancient Roman Empire that will also emerge in Europe at the end of the age (Revelation 17:1–3). Despite its current troubles, the church of Rome will yet play a major role in the events at the close of this age. For more information on the future of the Catholic church, be sure to read or listen to our booklet on The Beast of Revelation.



Healing Power of Creation

For thousands of years, human beings have understood the healing power of contact with nature. Health spas and country retreats have long been used to experience the restorative power of “fresh air.” However, recent research is beginning to document the benefits of this ancient practice.
Doctors are actually beginning to prescribe spending time in contact with the natural world as a way to “combat stress and improve health” (New York Times, July 12, 2018). According to an “analysis of studies from 2010 that focused on exercising in nature found improvements in self-esteem, particularly among younger participants. Overall effects on mood were heightened when there was a stream or other body of water nearby.” Although mechanisms to explain how this all happens still evade scientists, many researchers and health professionals believe contact with nature is a powerful tool for improving and maintaining one’s health.
The Bible has long noted the positive effects of contact with God’s creation. King David wrote that spending time beside “still waters” was restorative to his soul (Psalm 23:1–3). He was moved mentally and spiritually to rejoice and meditate when he gazed on the grandeur of all God has created (Psalm 104). When David realized how small he was in the vastness of God’s creation, he was encouraged to know that God was aware of him (Psalm 8:1–6).
Today, many seek solace in shopping malls, movie theaters and sweating in gymnasiums watching exercise videos, as they live in urban high rise apartment buildings, cut off from the natural world. Yet, a wise God created human beings with the capacity to benefit mentally, physically, and spiritually from contact with His creation, where they can experience a connection with their Creator. To learn more about how the creation sheds light on the Creator, read “Seven Proofs of God’s Existence.”