Lebanon’s Lion Has Roared

Pope Leo xiv arrived in Lebanon yesterday during his first trip abroad as pontiff. He flew in from Turkey, having commemorated the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. Roughly a third of Lebanon’s population is Christian, with a majority being Catholic. This makes Lebanon the first country Leo has visited with a significant Catholic population.

“It is a great joy for me to meet with you and to visit this land,” he said in an address yesterday, “where peace is much more than just a word. For here, peace is a desire and a vocation. It is a gift and a work in progress.” Leo said his theme for this visit was “Blessed are the peacemakers,” taken from Matthew 5:9. He used the word peace over 20 times in his speech, attended by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

Lebanon’s last papal visit was by Benedict xvi in 2012, seven years after his election. Pope Francis never visited Lebanon. That Leo would make Lebanon part of his inaugural papal tour shows how concerned he is with the country’s situation.

Leo’s visit comes as Lebanon is still recovering from last year’s invasion by Israel. After Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Hezbollah began a continuous bombardment of northern Israel. In the autumn of 2024, Israel had had enough and invaded southern Lebanon. The successful campaign destroyed Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure and beheaded its leadership. This campaign weakened Hezbollah’s monopoly on power, allowing the current government to rule.

Hezbollah is down but not out; it is fast rebuilding its forces. Israel has been launching strikes in retaliation. Caught in the middle, the Lebanese government seems unable and unwilling to disarm Hezbollah or push back against Israel.

Leading the Pride

It is with this context that Leo stated the following in his address (emphasis added):

Certainly, there are millions of Lebanese, here and throughout the world, who serve peace silently, day after day. Yet you, who have important institutional tasks within this nation, are destined for a special beatitude if you can say that you have put the goal of peace above all else. … [T]here can be no lasting reconciliation without a common goal, or without openness towards a future in which good prevails over the evils that have been suffered or inflicted in the past or the present. A culture of reconciliation, therefore, does not arise only from below, from the willingness and courage of a few. It also needs authorities and institutions that recognize the common good as superior to the particular. The common good is more than the sum of many interests, for it draws together everyone’s goals as closely as possible, directing them in such a way that everyone will have more than if they were to move forward by themselves.

Leo had many calls for unity and reconciliation sprinkled throughout his speech. That’s to be expected with Lebanon’s current situation. He specifically called for Lebanon’s “important institutional authorities”—the Lebanese government—to take charge, and for all factions to submit to the “common good” as headed by those authorities.

In other words, he called for the Lebanese government to be stronger. He called for Lebanon’s people of all affiliations to submit to that government. He called for the government to stop letting Hezbollah push it around.

When Aoun attained office in January, he pledged to disarm Hezbollah. When he told Lebanon’s legislature this in his inaugural speech, he received a standing ovation. Yet almost a year later, not only has he not followed through, but he has allowed Hezbollah to regain ground.

Leo stated that Lebanon has “suffered greatly from the consequences of an economy that kills, from global instability that has devastating repercussions also in the Levant, and from the radicalization of identities and conflicts.” It is the globally designated terror group Hezbollah that Lebanon has a reputation for “radicalization.” It is because of Hezbollah’s control of Lebanon that its economy has been so weak for years.

It appears this visit is Leo’s way of signaling some impatience.

Great Migration

Leo made other significant comments:

There are times when it is easier to flee, or simply more convenient to move elsewhere. It takes real courage and foresight to stay or return to one’s own country, and to consider even somewhat difficult situations worthy of love and dedication. We know that here, as in other parts of the world, uncertainty, violence, poverty and many other threats are leading to an exodus of young people and families seeking a future elsewhere, even though it is very painful to leave one’s homeland. It is certainly necessary to recognize that much good can come to all of you from having Lebanese people spread throughout the world. However, we must not forget that remaining in our homeland and working day by day to develop a civilization of love and peace remains something very valuable.

Pope Francis was elected during Europe’s refugee crisis. One of his most common calls was for countries to open their borders and accept waves of illegal migrants. Leo has made similar comments, but in his inaugural tour, he not only called for people to stop migrating but also for those already established in host countries to return home.

Leo is Latin for “lion.” Leo’s speech on the surface could have sounded like sentimental platitudes from a soft-spoken old man. Yet behind the diplomatic niceties was a lion’s roar.

On the Hunt

The medieval popes led Europe to organize crusades, conquer the Holy Land, and protect Middle Eastern Christians from their Muslim overlords. Pope Leo may not be calling for soldiers to sail over and shed blood. “Peace” rather than “war” may be his speech’s echoing word. Yet he was calling for a pushback against an Islamist takeover in a traditionally Catholic land. He did so after calling for another goal of the Crusades: unity with Orthodox Christians in Turkey. The symbolism is clear.

The Bible says one more Vatican-sponsored crusade is coming to the Middle East.

Psalm 83 records an alliance of nations coming together “that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance” (verse 4). Verses 6-8 detail this alliance: “the tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur also is joined with them …”

Neither biblical nor secular history ever records such an alliance, either in composition or purpose. Because of this, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry says Psalm 83 is a prophecy for our day. To understand, we must know the modern identities of these various peoples.

Mr. Flurry wrote in his 2014 article “Why You Need to Watch Lebanon”:

We can’t be precise in every boundary, but we can know the general idea of where these nations are today. Here are their modern names, as taught at Ambassador College under Herbert W. Armstrong: Edom is Turkey; the Ishmaelites are Saudi Arabia; Moab and Ammon are Jordan; the Hagarenes anciently dwelt in the land where Syria is today; the Philistines are the Palestinians now occupying the Gaza Strip; Gebal is Lebanon, and the inhabitants of Tyre are in southern Lebanon. Finally, Assur is referring to modern-day Germany.

Germany is the power behind this alliance. As other prophecies show, it will also lead a multinational European empire inspired and influenced by the Vatican. Lebanon has a key role in this alliance. Pope Leo’s voyage to the Middle East is laying the groundwork for this alliance right now.

Mr. Flurry stated that Lebanon’s “heavily Christian population makes Lebanon different from the rest of the Arab world.” He continued: “Because of its high population of Christian Arabs, Lebanon has become a linchpin for the Psalm 83 alliance.”

The pope seems to recognize Lebanon’s significance, sitting as it does between the Middle East and Europe. Keep watching the pope’s involvement in the Middle East. And keep watching for various Arab states to look to the pope and the system he is building for leadership.

To learn more, read “Why You Need to Watch Lebanon.”