Two Hearts Press Designates the “Two Witnesses” of the Year

CUMMING, Ga. - Dec. 23, 2013 - PRLog -- (Kelly Bowring)

"The temple... has been handed over to the Gentiles, who will trample the holy city for forty-two months. I will commission my two witnesses to prophesy... These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands" (Revelation 11:2f).

Two Hearts Press' Two Witnesses of 2013 are:

I. POPE EMERITUS BENEDICT
Witness of Papal Authority and Integrity

Pope Benedict XVI resigned on February 28, 2013. It is clear he was being threatened 1) by leaders of international government with Vatican Bank scandals and 2) by Church insiders with Vatican Curia scandals.

1)    After Pope Benedict tasked the Vatican bank to become more transparent, upsetting powerful forces within the Roman Curia, in June 2012, a financial scandal of money-laundering became public concerning the Vatican bank. On January 1, 2013 the Vatican was cut off from International financial credit markets via the German bank. The Vatican began losing 30,000 euros per day, causing great stress on its future viability to continue operations as a sovereign state.  On February 11, 2013, Pope Benedict announced his resignation. The next day, on February 12, the Vatican bank’s privileges were restored.

2)    Concerning the so-called “Vatileaks” affair, which initially involved leaked Vatican documents exposing alleged corruption (related to over-priced Vatican contracts and power struggles within the Vatican), in 2012 Pope Benedict had called for investigation into the related documents that were leaked to the press, which were traced back to the Pope’s butler. From this investigation came a dossier that indicated the presence of a homosexual mafia (gay lobby) secretly operating within the Vatican, aka within the Establishment, and that “two or three phones” had been tapped. What was uncovered: a Curia-centered gay sex and blackmail scandal. As all of this surfaced, there was even a warning of a death threat against Pope Benedict XVI. The conclusive report of the papal-initiated investigation was given to Pope Benedict on December 17, 2012. Then, after a surprise announcement, Pope Benedict resigned on February 28, 2013.

Another Pope to resign on his own initiative, after formalizing the papal resignation process, was Pope Celestine V in 1294. More on Pope Benedict’s connection to Pope Celestine here: http://twoheartspress.com/blog/pope-emeritus-benedict-signals-3-signs-of-the-times-before-retiring/ (see 3^rd part of article).

Though Pope Emeritus Benedict is not eligible to hold any office in the Roman Curia, his self-designated title of Emeritus generally indicates the possibility that such a person may continue to exercise some of their previous duties. More to come from Benedict?

II. CARDINAL BURKE
Witness of Apostolic Truth and Doctrine

Cardinal Burke was dropped from the Congregation for Bishops on December 16, 2013. It is proposed by many Catholic commentators that he is being punished for being “too outspoken” on Catholic truth and doctrine.

FIRST, the December 12, 2013 EWTN interview:

In an interview with EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo, Cardinal Burke spoke about issues that have caused much confusion in the past year:

1. About Abortion and Marriage

Cardinal Burke told EWTN he wasn’t “exactly sure why” Pope Francis “thinks we’re talking too much about abortion, too much about the integrity of marriage as between one man and one woman but we can never talk enough about that as long as in our society innocent and defenseless human life is being attacked in the most savage way. I mean it’s literally a massacre of the unborn.”

Cardinal Burke concluded, saying, “We can never talk enough about that because if we don’t get this straight, that human life, innocent defenseless human life has an inviolable dignity, how are we going to understand anything else correctly with regard to care for the sick or whatever it might be?”

2. About Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians and the Eucharist

To deny Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians who are Catholic, such as Secretary of State John Kerry, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, “makes perfect sense” because it is a discipline that goes back to St. Paul, “the very first years of the Church,” said Cardinal Raymond Burke.

Catholics Vice President Joe Biden and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, both strong pro-abortion advocates, took communion during the 2013 papal installation Mass in Rome.

3. About Pope Francis’ recent apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”)

The exhortation, Burke told Raymond Arroyo, is “not altogether easy to interpret.”

Burke called the exhortation a “distinct kind of document” and said “I haven’t quite figured out in my mind exactly … how to describe it.”

“I would not think that, I don’t think it was intended to be part of papal Magisterium,” Burke stated. “At least that’s my impression of it.”

THEN, the December 16, 2013 Vatican adjustment:

Pope Francis announced changes in the influential Vatican office that evaluates and nominates candidates for bishop around the world – dropping Burke from the Congregation for Bishops in what the secular media is calling part of the Pope’s “reforms”. Cardinal Burke remains Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura. More to come from Burke?

In related news: Dr. Kelly Bowring speaks more about solid Catholic prophecy and faithful living for our times in his new book, "The Signs of the Times", published by Two Hearts Press. For related articles and books, see http://www.TwoHeartsPress.com