[Zechariah]
{11:8} And I cut down three shepherds in one month. And my soul became contracted concerning them, just as their soul also varied concerning me.

There are some indications in Catholic prophecy that the first part of the tribulation, the lesser tribulation, will begin during a time when there is some confusion as to who is the real Pope, i.e. there will be a prominent antipope. There is also some indication that the end times might begin in a situation with “three shepherds”. So what might this mean?

There can only be one valid Pope at a time. When a Pope resigns, he is no longer the Roman Pontiff. Pope Benedict XVI resigned, validly, so he is no longer the Pope. Calling him Pope emeritus simply means a retired and former Pope. But in a sense we have two Popes now, the current Pope and the former Pope. Each was/is a valid Pope during their time as Pope.

My prediction, based on many years of study and writing of eschatology, is that Pope Francis will initiate a schism. I have been saying that for many years, and it has happened. We are already in a great conservative schism. All that is left is for the schismatics to admit they are not in communion with the Roman Pontiff and leave the Church formally.

My next prediction is that Pope Francis will resign, after the schism reaches a peak and many Bishops and priests reject the Holy See and the Pope. He will resign in the midst of this controversy. Then a conservative Pope will be elected in his place, in an attempt by the Cardinals to quell the schism. But that will not work.

The next conservative Pope will not approve of the rejection by the schismatics of Pope Francis and his teachings. He will make some changes in discipline that will please conservatives, but that will not satisfy the conservatives. They will not accept Pope Francis as a valid Pope, and so the conservative Pope will excommunicate them.

At that time, we will have one true Pope, the next conservative Pope (who I think will take the name Pope Pius XIII), and two Popes emeritus. That’s three shepherds. In Church history, we have not before had three living valid Popes, by which I mean three who at some point each were the one valid Pope. And that would fit the above passage from Zechariah about three shepherds.

Then what happens during that time? It is the time of the tribulation; a time of great suffering for the Church and the world.

{11:4} Thus says the Lord my God: Feed the flock of the slaughter,
{11:5} which those who possessed them cut down, and they did not feel sorrow, and they sold them, saying: “Blessed be the Lord; we have become wealthy. Even their shepherds did not spare them.”
{11:6} And so, I will no longer spare the inhabitants upon the earth, says the Lord. Behold, I will deliver men, each one into the hand of his neighbor and into the hand of his king. And they will cut down the land, and I will not rescue it from their hand.

The “flock of the slaughter” is the Church during the tribulation, when the people of God are permitted by God to suffer much. And as the passage says, this is because of their sins. The tribulation would be much less intense if only Christians did not sin gravely.

{11:7} And I will pasture the flock of the slaughter, because of this, O poor of the flock. And I took to myself two staffs: the one I called Handsome, and the other I called Rope, and I pastured the flock.
{11:8} And I cut down three shepherds in one month. And my soul became contracted concerning them, just as their soul also varied concerning me.
{11:9} And I said: I will not pasture you. Whatever dies, let it die. And whatever is cut down, let it be cut down. And let the rest of them devour, each one the flesh of his neighbor.

Handsome is Pope Benedict XVI, who was pleasing to the people of God. He did not initiate a doctrinal crack down, as many expected (he was formerly the head of the CDF). Instead, he was a pastoral Pope, pleasing in the eyes of nearly everyone in the Church, and so “handsome” (not literally handsome).

{11:10} And I took my staff, which was called Handsome, and I tore it apart, so as to invalidate my pact, which I had struck with all of the people.
{11:11} And it became invalid in that day. And so they understood, just like the poor of the flock who stay close to me, that this is the word of the Lord.

And the pact which was invalidated refers to the resignation of Benedict. It is not that his pontificate was invalid, but simply that he resigned, validly.

Three shepherds are “cut down” in one month. That means three Popes die within a short period of time, not necessarily literally one calendar month. So during the Pontificate of the next conservative Pope, the tribulation begins. Actually, I believe it begins during the latter part of the Pontificate of Pope Francis, but the suffering becomes very intense under the subsequent Pope.

{11:12} And I said to them: If it is good in your eyes, bring me my wages. And if not, remain still. And they weighed for my wages thirty silver coins.
{11:13} And the Lord said to me: Cast it towards the statuary, the handsome price at which I have been valued by them. And I took the thirty silver coins, and I cast them into the house of the Lord, towards the statuary.

The reference toward casting 30 coins of silver means that the Passion of the Church begins at this time, when three shepherds are struck down. The Passion of Christ began when Judas betrayed Christ, and then Judas returned the 30 coins, casting them down at the feet of the Pharisees.

{11:14} And I cut short my second staff, which was called Rope, so that I might dissolve the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

Rope refers to Pope Francis, and he oversees the schism, which dissolves the brotherhood between the faithful of the Church (Judah) and the conservative schismatics (Israel), just as a schism occurred in ancient Israel.

{11:15} And the Lord said to me: Still they are to you the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
{11:16} For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit what is forsaken, nor seek what is scattered, nor heal what is broken, nor nourish what remains standing, and he will consume the flesh of the fatted ones and break their hoofs.
{11:17} O shepherd and idol, abandoning the flock, with a sword upon his arm and over his right eye: his arm will be withered by drought, and his right eye will be obscured by darkness.

And this last passage refers to the third Pope, i.e. the next conservative Pope. He deals harshly with the schismatics. He is like king Rehoboam, under whose reign Israel rebelled against Judah. He does not gather what is scattered or heal what is broken. He condemns the schismatics and punishes them. And according to verse 17, his pontificate does not end well. He is captured in warfare (sword upon his arm) and imprisoned in darkness (taken prisoner).

Then at some point the conservative Pope, Pope emeritus Francis, and Pope emeritus Benedict each die in short order. And this occurs at the start of the tribulation.

by
Ronald L. Conte Jr.
Roman Catholic theologian and translator of the Catholic Public Domain Version of the Bible.

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