The Pope and the President

A 5-Day Devotional Guide on Prophecy, Power, and the Healing of the Wound

Based on the sermon by Pastor Ron Kelly

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Introduction: The Colossal Paradigm Shift

The Central Thesis: What began as a Saturday night vigil in Rome has turned into a public confrontation between two of the most powerful people on the planet. The speaker's main point is this: there has been a colossal paradigm shift in the degree of respectability and influence for the papacy—and this shift is a major step in the healing of the deadly wound.

As we journey through this 5-day guide, we will explore what this means for God's commandment-keeping people, how to read the signs of the times without fear, and most importantly, how to follow the Lamb wherever He goes.

Opening Prayer: Lord, as we study the prophecies of Your Word, give us clarity without fear, discernment without pride, and a heart that seeks first Your kingdom. Help us to understand the times so we may know what we ought to do. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Memory Verse for the Week: "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." — Revelation 14:12

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Day 1: The Prophetic Warning – No Longer Too Insignificant

Key Scripture: Revelation 13:3 – "And I saw one of his heads as if it was wounded to death, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast."

Sermon Reflection: Ellen White wrote in The Great Controversy: "Our people have been regarded as too insignificant to be worthy of notice. But a change will come. The Christian world is now making movements which will necessarily bring the commandment-keeping people of God to notice." The speaker reminds us that Jesus never gives a test He hasn't planned for—and provided for—us to pass.

In the 1880s, Adventists faced Sunday law threats. Some were jailed. But through the ministry of A.T. Jones and others, the crisis passed. Yet the warning remains: "Protestantism is now reaching hands across the gulf to clasp hands with the papacy, and a confederacy is being formed to trample out the sight of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment."

The speaker quotes a stunning prediction: "Let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are—only when it is too late to escape the snare."

Today's Focus: Understanding that prophecy is not meant to frighten us but to prepare us.

Practical Application:

• Read The Great Controversy, chapter 25 ("The Voice of God") or chapter 36 ("The Impending Conflict").

• Ask yourself: Have I become "nominal" in my Christian walk? The speaker says, "When I go out to eat, I don't want a nominal restaurant... We're not to be a nominal people."

• Identify one area where you have been ignoring the "bridge out" signs of prophetic warning.

Prayer: Father, open my eyes to see what You are doing in the world. Don't let me be among those who smile at prophecy until it's too late. Give me courage to speak truth when it costs something. Amen.

Key Quote: "It would be better for us to be maligned now for preaching truth than for people to come down to the end trying to figure out what's going on."

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Day 2: The Wound That Is Healing – From Anti-Catholic Sentiment to Full Diplomatic Ties

Key Scripture: Revelation 13:12 – "And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed."

Sermon Reflection: The speaker traces a remarkable historical arc. For the first 200 years of American history, there was "widespread anti-Roman Catholic sentiment." In 1867, Congress enacted legislation prohibiting diplomatic relations with the Vatican. But in 1984, President Reagan established the first U.S. ambassador to the Holy See—William A. Wilson.

A letter to Ambassador Wilson from the Vatican states: "You pointed out, Mr. Ambassador, and rightly so, that in many points the principles on which your republic was founded closely parallel the principles of the Holy See."

The speaker notes: "The establishment of full diplomatic ties was made possible by a move of Congress last year, lifting a prohibition enacted in 1867." The wound—inflicted in 1798 when Pope Pius VI was taken captive—has been healing ever since.

Today's Focus: Recognizing that the healing of the deadly wound is not a single event but a centuries-long process accelerating in our day.

Practical Application:

• Research the year 1798 and its significance in Adventist prophecy (Revelation 13:3).

• Consider: How does the establishment of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the Vatican represent a "healing"?

• Discuss with your family or small group: What does it mean that "the papacy is silently growing into power... in legislative halls, in churches, and in the hearts of men"?

Prayer: Lord, help me to see history through the lens of Your prophecy. You know the end from the beginning. Give me wisdom to understand the times without being paralyzed by fear. Amen.

Historical Marker: 1867 – U.S. prohibits diplomatic relations with Vatican. 1984 – Reagan establishes first ambassador to Holy See. The wound is healing.

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Day 3: The Clash of Moral Voices – Pope vs. President

Key Scripture: Revelation 13:4 – "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"

Sermon Reflection: The speaker walks through a stunning series of recent events:

• Pope Leo XIV (the first American-born pope) held a prayer vigil at St. Peter's Basilica, praying for "a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive."

• Though the Pope did not mention Trump by name, the reference to "delusions of omnipotence" was widely seen as a rebuke of presidential hubris.

• President Trump responded with a social media post featuring an image of himself depicted like Jesus Christ—with glowing hands and a white robe.

• Catholic leaders, including those who had loyally supported Trump, immediately called the image "blasphemy" and said the president owed the Pope an apology.

• Bishop Robert Barron of Trump's own religious liberty commission called the post "entirely inappropriate and disrespectful."

• On the papal plane, Pope Leo told reporters: "I have no fear of Trump."

The speaker's assessment: "The gloves just came off." What would have been handled with diplomatic discretion in the past is now playing out in public.

Today's Focus: Observing how the papacy is positioning itself as the world's leading moral voice.

Practical Application:

• Read The Great Controversy, chapter 35 ("Liberty of Conscience Threatened").

• Consider this question: Why have Protestant voices largely remained silent until the Pope was insulted?

• Reflect on the speaker's observation: "The only voice willing to take on the most powerful person in the world was a Roman pontiff."

Prayer: Lord, give me discernment about where moral authority truly rests. Help me not to be swept away by popular figures or political loyalties. Anchor my soul in Your Word alone. Amen.

Key Quote: "For some reason, somehow, in the great prophetic movement, we just moved from a different dynamic of relating to a very open, Chicago-born pope who will tell all the people on his airplane, 'I'm not afraid of the Trump administration.'"

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Day 4: The Three-Fold Union – Romanism, Protestantism, and Spiritualism

Key Scripture: Revelation 16:13-14 – "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty."

Sermon Reflection: Ellen White describes a three-fold union that will shape the final conflict: Romanism, Protestantism, and Spiritualism. The speaker notes: "When I was a kid, spiritualism wasn't everywhere. Now you can't avoid it." From The Lion King to every crime show, the message is the same: the dead are not dead, and they have wisdom to offer.

The speaker quotes: "When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism... then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan, and that the end is near."

This three-fold union will "repudiate every principle of our Constitution as a Protestant, republican government" and "make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods." The result? "The people of God will then be plunged into those scenes of affliction and distress which the prophets have described as the time of Jacob's trouble."

Today's Focus: Recognizing the subtle ways spiritualism has infiltrated popular culture and even religious thought.

Practical Application:

• Examine one popular movie or TV show for spiritualist themes (communication with the dead, ancestral wisdom, ghosts as guides).

• Discuss: How has the idea that "all religions lead to God" softened resistance to the papacy?

• Read The Great Controversy, chapter 34 ("Spiritualism").

Prayer: Holy Spirit, protect my family from the subtle deceptions of spiritualism. Help me to recognize error even when it comes dressed in light. Anchor me in the truth of Your Word. Amen.

Key Quote: "It's going to be provable because false angels are going to be calling fire down from heaven. We've taught ourselves the empirical method—we want to measure and prove things. It will be provable."

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Day 5: Following the Lamb – Our Response to the Coming Crisis

Key Scripture: Revelation 14:4 – "These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes."

Sermon Reflection: After walking through the alarming signs of prophetic fulfillment—the healing of the wound, the clash of moral powers, the three-fold union—the speaker turns to hope. He recalls Jacob at the Jabbok River, fearing his brother Esau was coming with 400 armed men to kill him. "He slipped across the Jabbok River... and there, as he knelt down to pray, somebody grabbed him in the middle of the night. He wrestled through the night, not realizing the hand was there to help him. But when he finally came to the awareness it was God, he hung on for dear life and said, 'I won't let you go unless you bless me.'"

The speaker's application: "We can preach to you about all the things going wrong in the world... and it can make us act more like sons of the devil operating out of fear than when you walked through these doors today. But God is calling all of us to start our day basically saying, 'I won't let you go unless you bless me.'"

The easiest way to learn to trust Jesus? With your money and your time. "Seek first the kingdom of God."

Today's Focus: Moving from fear to faithful following.

Practical Application:

• Practice the "I won't let You go unless You bless me" prayer each morning this week.

• Identify one area where fear of the future is paralyzing you. Surrender it to God.

• Read Psalm 46: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed..."

• Commit to following the Lamb wherever He goes—even when the path is unclear.

Prayer: Lamb of God, I want to be among those who follow You wherever You go—not just when the path is easy, but when it leads through the valley of the shadow. Give me the wrestling faith of Jacob. I will not let You go until You bless me. Amen.

Final Promise: "Jesus never gives you a test He didn't plan for—and provide for—for you to pass."

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Summary: Signs of the Times – What to Watch For

The Bottom Line: "Political corruption destroys love of justice and regard for truth. Even in free America, rulers and legislators, in order to secure public favor, will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing Sunday observance."

But: "There is a group that follows the Lamb wherever He goes."

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Daily Devotional Structure

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Closing Reflection

The speaker ends where he began: with a question. "Is Malachi Martin a courageous whistleblower or a sensationalist? That's left for you and me to determine." But what is not left to interpretation is this: an American pope and an American president are duking it out on the world stage, and the book of Revelation predicted this precise dynamic.

"All the world wandered after the beast" (Revelation 13:3).

But there is another group. A smaller group. A faithful group. "These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (Revelation 14:4).

Question for your heart: Will you be among them?

Closing Prayer: Father, the signs are all around us. The wound is healing. The powers are aligning. The moral voices are clashing. But our eyes are on You. Help us not to be distracted, not to be afraid, and not to be nominal. Help us to follow the Lamb—today, tomorrow, and until He comes. Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

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For Further Study

• The Great Controversy by Ellen G. White (chapters 25, 34, 35, 36)

• Revelation 13 and 14

• Daniel 7

• "The Keys of This Blood" by Malachi Martin (for historical reference, read with discernment)

A Final Word from the Sermon: "Let us follow Him in our daily lives so that our religious experience does not defy our religious profession."