Conclave
by Mike James
With the recent death of Pope Francis, the Catholic Church is now involved in a conclave that must occur within 15 to 20 days after the death of a pope. The word "conclave" is Latin and means "a room that can be locked up." The Catholic cardinals will gather in Vatican City and then enter the Sistine Chapel to begin a voting process that begins with one vote on the first day and then two votes in the morning and two in the afternoon until a new pope is chosen by a two-thirds majority.
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MAY 7: Cardinals attend a mass for the election of the Roman Pontiff, prior to the start of the conclave, at St Peter's Basilica on May 7, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. Cardinals of the Catholic Church have descended on Vatican City to commence the papal conclave, the secretive voting process held in the Sistine Chapel that requires a two-thirds majority to elect the new leader of the Catholic Church. The election follows the death of Pope Francis on April 21 at the age of 88. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
If a pope is not chosen after three days of voting, the cardinals stop the voting for up to one day so they can pray, discuss, and be exhorted by a key cardinal. Only cardinals who are under the age of 80 can vote for the new pope. One hundred and thirty-five of the Church's 252 cardinals are eligible to vote.
After each round of voting, using paper ballots, the ballots are burned, and the smoke rises outside the Vatican. If the smoke is black, it means a new pope has not yet been chosen; if white smoke appears, we know there is now a new pope.
What is interesting about this process is the great interest it draws from the media and the world at large. Part of the reason for the interest is that the Catholic Church is the largest church within Christianity. There are about 1.4 billion Catholics in the world, which is about 50 percent of the total of Christians in the world. Catholicism has a global presence, more so than any other religious organization.
The pope is different from any other religious figure on earth. Not only is he the leader of the largest church in the world, but he also leads the city-state known as Vatican City. The pope enjoys more popularity than any other singular religious figure in the world. The Dalai Lama probably ranks in a distant second place. Due to this unique popularity, among other things, there has been a unique interest in how the popularity of the pope might play a role in end-time affairs. The book of Revelation speaks of a "false prophet" at the end time (Revelation 13). This would seem to be a deceptive religious figure with great influence in the world.
Since the 900s AD, there has been a segment of Christianity that has taken a negative view of the papacy. Bishop Arnulf accused Pope John XV of being the Antichrist way back in 991 AD. This is the earliest record of anyone calling the pope the Antichrist.
Since that time, Cardinal Benno in the 1000s AD held that Pope Gregory VII was "either a member of Antichrist, or Antichrist himself." Eberhard II von Truchsees, Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg in 1241, denounced Pope Gregory IX at the Council of Regensburg as "that man of perdition, whom they call Antichrist, who in his extravagant boasting says, I am God, I cannot err."
In 1388, the Lollard movement was inspired by John Wycliffe's views to assert in their "Twenty-Five Points" that the pope is the Antichrist.
During the Protestant Reformation, men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer, John Thomas, John Knox, Roger Williams, Cotton Mather, and John Wesley, as well as most Protestants of the 16th–18th centuries, felt that the early church was led into apostasy by the papacy and identified the pope with the Antichrist.
Even as recently as 1988, Ian Paisley, Evangelical minister and founder of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, made headlines by accusing Pope John Paul II of being the Antichrist during one of the pope's speeches before the European Parliament, which at the time Paisley was a member.
Throughout history, various clergymen of the Eastern Orthodox Church have identified the papacy with the Antichrist. Seventh-day Adventism and the Church of God movement have had similar things to say about the papacy over the years.
What are some of the reasons for this belief? Well let's look at some scriptures pertaining to an Antichrist-like figure in Revelation to gain an understanding of why this is discussed.
In Revelation 17:9, we read about a woman sitting on a beast with seven heads. The seven heads are said to be seven mountains or hills. Some believe the seven mountains or hills relate to the city of Rome. Rome has been known since ancient times as existing on seven hills or mountains. Vatican City is in Rome.
In Revelation 17:5, we read of this woman being called Mystery Babylon the Great. Some believe the name Babylon may be a type of the religious pagan system that was founded there in ancient times, whose survivals have infiltrated into mainline Christianity and Catholicism.
Revelation 17:6 also mentions that this same woman is "drunk with the blood of the saints," meaning that she somehow caused the martyrdom of true Christians. During Christian history, the pope was instrumental in ordering the death of many Christian martyrs. This was a continuation of Rome as a nation ordering the deaths of Christians before the Universal Church.
Revelation 13:11 talks about another beast that will be like a lamb (Christ-like?) but speak like a dragon (Satanic influence). This beast is associated with the first beast (Revelation 13:1-8), who is a world power. Catholics believe the pope is a representative of Christ on earth.
The papacy and Roman Catholicism share symbolism with ancient Rome and false religion in its structure and settings. The fact that they preach about Christ but have added and altered to what Christ said is also relevant to this discussion. Would the pope of the present persecute Christians and have them martyred? The answer to that is a resounding no. So, does that mean the pope cannot be the religious figure associated with the future beast power? The answer to that is also no. We must keep in mind that we may not be close to the end-time now.
That being said, some other unknown religious figure might gain popularity and influence in the future. But the past and present do reveal the pope as a singular, unique, influential religious presence in the world. Keep your eyes on the most important human religious figure in the world because of his power, influence, and history.
Sources: "How does the conclave pick a new pope? 8 things to know," PBS News, May 1, 2025, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/how-does-the-conclave-pick-a-new-pope-8-things-to-know#:~:text=A%20conclave%20must%20start%2015,by%20Benedict%20XVI%20in%202013
"Antichrist," Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antichrist
Anti-Christ: Two Thousand Years of the Human Fascination With Evil, by Bernard McGinn, (San Francisco: Harper Collins Publishers, 1994).
"Is the pope, or the next pope, the antichrist?" Got Questions, https://www.gotquestions.org/pope-antichrist.html