02-28-2021, 04:28 PM
229. St. John's Epistles
It is only in these two short missives that. the name Antichrist appears in Biblical literature. Moreover these are the earliest works in which that name is found. The very words of St. John, however, indicate that the Apostle did not coin the expression nor originate the idea. He says that his readers have already been told that Antichrist will come. In these epistles too we find the first clear indication that we are to distinguish between Antichrists of minor stature and the Antichrist.
a. "Not all prophetic spirits, brethren, deserve your credence; you must put them to the test, to see whether they come from God. Many false prophets have made their appearance in the world. This is the test by which God's Spirit is to be recognized; every spirit which acknowledges Jesus Christ as having come to us in human flesh has God for its author; and no spirit which would disunite Jesus comes from God. This is the power of Antichrist, whose coming you have been told to expect; now you must know that he is here in the world already. You, little children, who take your origin from God, have gained the mastery over it; there is a stronger power at work in you, than in the world. Those other, belonging to the world, speak the world's language, and the world listens to them; we belong to God, and a man must have knowledge of God if he is to listen to us; if he does not belong to God, he does not listen to us at all. That is the test by which we distinguish the true Spirit from the false spirit. Beloved, let us love one another; love springs from God; no one can love without being born of God, and knowing God. How can the man who has no love have any knowledge of God, since God is love? (1 John 4: 1-8).
b. "Many false teachers have appeared in the world, who will not acknowledge that Jesus Christ has come in human flesh; here is the deceiver you were warned against, here is Antichrist'' (2 John 7).
230. St. Jude
"What defilement there is in their banquets, as they fare sumptuously at your side, shepherds that feed themselves without scruple! They are clouds with no water in them, driven before the winds, autumn trees that bear no fruit, given over anew to death, plucked up by the roots; they are fierce waves of the sea, with shame for their crests, wandering stars, with eternal darkness and storm awaiting them. Of these, among others, Henoch was speaking, Adam's descendant in the seventh degree, when he prophesied, Behold, the Lord came with his saints in their thousands, to carry out his sentence on all men, and to convict the godless. Godless and sinners, with how many ungodly acts they have defied God, with how many rebellious words have they blasphemed him! Such men go about whispering and complaining, and live by the rule of their own appetites; meanwhile, their mouths are ready with fine phrases, to flatter the great when it serves their ends.
But as for you, beloved, keep in mind the warnings given you long since by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how they told you, that mocking spirits must needs appear in the last age, who would make their own ungodly appetites into a rule of life. Such are the men who now keep themselves apart; animal natures, without the life of the Spirit" (12-19).
231. The Apocalypse
As we have noted before the chief Biblical source of information on the reign of Antichrist is this last book by the Apostle St. John. In a way his work is a commentary on what the Old Testament, especially Daniel, has to say about the last days. But of course it is much more. It completes all the Biblical prophesies concerning events that had not yet happened when it was written, namely some sixty-five years after the death of Our Lord.
Many commentaries have been written on this last book of Sacred Scripture and it is without doubt the most difficult book to understand. This is quite natural. The prophet himself need not have understood and most likely did not understand anything more about the material than what he actually committed to writing. As a result there was very little that he could explain to his disciples by word of mouth so that they could form a traditional method of interpretation such as was the case with non-prophetic books.
This is about what one would expect. Most of the book had little or no message for the author or his contemporaries. It spoke to generations yet unborn just as had the Great Isaias, Jeremias and Daniel. When the generations for whom it was chiefly intended would come into being the true author of all true prophesy, the Holy Spirit, would in his own ways allow his elect to take from the text the knowledge that had from the beginning been concealed therein. In this then is to be found the reason why the magisterium of the Church which is based directly on tradition in all matters of doctrine and morals must depend largely on experience and the interpretation of signs when there is a question of unfulfilled or only partially fulfilled prophesy.
In choosing a commentary for reproduction in this book we have selected one written by a twentieth century personage, who seems to be a humble, realistic man and whose work is declared of Church Authority to contain nothing contrary to the Faith. It must, naturally, be remembered that most parts of his commentary, as well as those of other authors, are purely private opinions (1).
a. "Then, in my vision, he broke the sixth seal; and with that there was a great earthquake, and the sun grew dark as sackcloth, and the whole moon blood-red; the stars of heaven fell to earth, like unripe fruit shaken from a fig tree, when a high wind rocks it; the sky folded up like a scroll, and disappeared; no mountain, no island, but was removed from its place. The kings of the world with their noblemen and their captains, men of wealth and of strength, all alike, slaves and free men, took shelter in caves and rockfastnesses among the hills. Fall on us, they said to the hills and the rocks, and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the vengeance of the Lamb. Which of us can stand his ground, now that the great day, the day of their vengeance, has come? (6:12-17).
b. "And when the second angel sounded, it was as if a great mountain, all in flames, fell into the sea, turning a third part of the sea into blood, (cf. Ex. 7:20 ff) and killing a third of all the creatures that live in the sea, and wrecking a third of the ships. And when the third angel sounded, a great star fell from heaven, (cf. Is. 14-12) burning like a torch, fell upon a third part of the rivers, and on the springs of the water. The name of this star is Wormwood: (cf. Jer. 9:15) and it changed a third of the water into wormwood, till many died of drinking the water, so bitter had it become. And when the fourth angel sounded, a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were smitten with darkness, so that the day must go without light for a third of its length, and the night too. (cf. Ex. 10:21-23) And I heard, in my vision, words spoken by an eagle that flew across the middle part of heaven, crying aloud, Woe, woe, woe to all that dwell on earth, when those other calls are sounded by the three angels whose trumpets have yet to sound" (8:8-13).
c. "They were not to injure the grass on the land, the green things that grew there, or the trees; they were to attack men, such men as did not bear God's mark on their foreheads. These they had no power to kill, only to inflict pain on them during a space of five months; such pain as a man feels when he has been stung by a scorpion. (When those days come, men will be looking for the means of death, and there will be no finding it; longing to die, and death will always give them the slip). The semblance of these locusts was that of horses caparisoned for war; on their heads they wore a kind of circlet that shone like gold, and their faces were like human faces; they had their hair like women's hair, and teeth like lions' teeth. They wore breastplates that might have been of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of chariots, drawn at full speed by many horses into battle. It was their tails and the stings in their tails that made them like scorpions, and with these they were empowered to do men hurt for a space of five months. And they fought under a king; their king was the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, in Greek Apollyon, that is, in Latin, the Exterminator. Of the three woes that were pronounced, one is now past; the two others are still to come.
And when the sixth angel sounded, I heard a voice that came from the four corners of the golden altar which stands in the presence of God. It said to the sixth angel, as he stood there with his trumpet, Release the four angels who are imprisoned by the great river, the river Euphrates. So these were released, four angels who were awaiting for the year, the month, the day, the hour, when they were to destroy a third part of mankind. And the muster of the armies that followed them on horseback (for I heard their muster called) was twenty thousand armies of ten thousand. This is what I saw in my vision of the horses and of their riders; the riders had breastplates of fiery red, and blue, and brimstone yellow, and the horses' heads seemed like the heads of lions, with fire and smoke and brimstone coming out of their mouths. This fire, this smoke, this brimstone that came out of their mouths were three plagues, from which a third part of mankind perished. The power these horses have to do mischief lies in their mouths and in their tails; their tails are like serpents, with serpent's heads, and they use them to do hurt. The rest of mankind, that did not perish by these plagues, would not turn away from the things their own hands fashioned; still worshipped evil spirits, false gods of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood, that can neither see, nor hear, nor move. Nor would they repent of the murders, the sorceries, the fornications, and the thefts which they committed" (9 :4-21).
d. "And now I saw a second angel of sovereign strength coming down from heaven, with a cloud for his vesture, and a rainbow about his head; with a face bright as the sun, and feet like pillars of fire. He carried in his hand an open book. Setting his right foot on the sea, and his left on the dry land, he cried with a loud voice, like the roaring of a lion; and as he cried, the seven thunders of heaven made their voices heard. And I, when the seven thunders had finished their utterance, was making as if to write it down, when I heard a voice say from heaven, Do not write down the message of the seven thunders, keep it sealed. Then that angel, whom I had already seen with his feet on the sea and on the dry land, lifted up his right hand towards heaven, and swore an oath by him who lives through endless ages, who made heaven and all that is in heaven, earth and all that is on earth, the sea and all that is in the sea. He swore that there should be no more waiting; when the time came for the seventh angel to make himself heard, as he stood ready to sound his trumpet, God's secret design, made known by his servants the prophets, would be accomplished. Then once more I heard the voice speaking to me from Heaven, thus: Go and take the open book from the hand of that angel, whose feet are on the sea and on the dry land. So I went to the angel, bidding him give me the book. Take it, he said, and eat it; it will turn thy belly sour, though in thy mouth it be as sweet as honey. So I took the book from the angel's hand and ate it; it was sweet as honey in my mouth, but my belly turned sour once I had eaten it" (10-1-10).
c. "Then, when they have borne me witness to the full, the beast which comes up out of the abyss will make war on them, and defeat and kill them ...
"At that hour there was a great earthquake, which overthrew a tenth of the city; the count of those who were killed by the earthquake was seven thousand, and the rest were filled with dread, and acknowledged the glory of God in heaven (11:7-13).
f. "And now, in heaven, a great portent appeared; a woman that wore the sun for her mantle, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars about her head. She had a child in her womb and was crying out as she travailed, in great pain of her delivery. Then a second portent appeared in heaven; a great dragon was there, fiery red, with seven heads and ten horns, and on each of the seven heads a royal diadem; his tail dragged down a third part of the stars in heaven, and flung them to earth. And he stood fronting the woman who was in child-birth, ready to swallow up the child as soon as she bore it. She bore a son, the son who is to herd the nations like sheep with a crook of iron; and this child of hers was caught up to God, right up to His throne, while the mother fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place of refuge for her, and there, for twelve hundred and sixty days, she is to be kept safe.
"Fierce war broke out in heaven, where Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought on their part, but could not win the day, or stand their ground in heaven any longer; the great dragon, serpent of the primal age, was flung down to earth, and his angels with him" (12: 1-9).
g. "Rejoice over it, heaven, and all you that dwell in heaven; but woe to you, earth and sea, now that the devil has come down upon you, full of malice, because he knows how brief is the time given him. So the dragon, finding himself cast down to earth, went in pursuit of the woman, the boy's mother; but the woman was given two wings, such as the great eagle has, to speed her flight into the wilderness, to her place of refuge, where for a year, and two years, and half a year she will be kept hidden from the serpent's view. Thereupon the serpent sent a flood of water out of his mouth in pursuit of the woman, to carry her away on its tide; but the earth came to the woman's rescue. The earth gaped wide, and swallowed up this flood which the dragon had sent cut of his mouth. So, in his spite against the woman, the dragon went elsewhere to make war on the rest of her children, the men who keep God's commandments, and hold fast to the truth concerning Jesus. And he stood there waiting on the sea beach" (12: 12-18).
h. "And out of the sea, in my vision, a beast came up to land, with ten horns and seven heads, and on each of its ten horns a royal diadem; and the names it bore on its heads were names of blasphemy. This beast which I saw was like a leopard, but it had bear's feet and a lion's mouth. To it the dragon gave the strength that was his, and great dominion. One of his heads, it seemed, had been mortally wounded, but this deadly wound had been healed. And now the whole world went after the beast in admiration, falling down and praising the dragon for giving the beast all this dominion; praising the beast too.
"Who is a match for the beast? they asked; Who is fit to make war upon him? And he was given power of speech, to boast and blaspheme with, and freedom to work his will for a space of forty-two months. So he began to utter blasphemy against God, blasphemy against his name, against his dwelling-place and all those who dwell in heaven. He was allowed, too, to levy war on the saints, and t~ triumph over them. The dominion given to him extended over all tribes and peoples and languages and races; all the dwellers on earth fell down in adoration of him, except those whose names the Lamb has written down in his book of life, the Lamb slain in sacrifice ever since the world was made.
"Listen to this, you that have ears to hear with. The captor will go into captivity; he who slays with the sword must himself be slain with the sword. Such good ground have the saints for their endurance. and for their faithfulness (13: 1-10).
i. "Then, from the land itself, I saw another beast come up; it had two horns like a lamb's horns, but it roared like a dragon. And it stood in the presence of the former beast, to carry out all that it was empowered to do, bidding the world and all its inhabitants worship the former beast, that beast whose deadly wound was healed. Such wonders could it accomplish, that it brought down fire, before men's eyes, from heaven to earth; and by these wonders, which it was enabled to do in its masters' presence, it deluded the inhabitants of the world, bidding those who dwell in it set up an image to that beast which was smitten with the sword, and lived. Further, it was able to put life into that beast's image, so that even the beast's image uttered speech; and if anyone refused to worship the image of the beast, it had him put to death. All alike, little and great, rich and poor, free men and slaves, must receive a mark from him on their right hands, or on their foreheads, and none might buy or sell, unless he carried this mark, which was the beast's name, or the number that stands for his name. Here is room for discernment; let the reader, if he has the skill, cast up the sum of the figures in the beast's name, after our human fashion, and the number will be six hundred and sixty-six" (13:11-18).
j. "And these were followed by a third angel, who cried aloud, Whoever worships the beast and his image, or wears the beast's mark on forehead or hand, he too shall drink; but the wine he shall drink is God's anger, untempered wine poured out in the cup of his vengeance. Fire and brimstone shall be his torment, in the presence of the holy angels, in the presence of the Lamb. The smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; day and night no rest is theirs, who worshipped the beast and his image, who bore the mark of his name" (14: 9-11).
k. "Then, in my vision, a white cloud appeared; and on this cloud sat one who seemed like a son of man, with a crown of gold on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. And now, from the-temple, came another angel, crying out to him who sat on the cloud, Put in thy sickle, and reap; the crop of earth is dry, and the time has come to reap it. So he who sat on the cloud put in his sickle, and earth's harvest was reaped-. Then another angel came from the heavenly temple; he too had a sharp sickle. And from the altar came another angel, the same that had power over the fire on it, and cried out to the angel with the sharp sickle, Put in thy sharp sickle, and gather the grapes from the earth's vineyard; its clusters are ripe. So the angel put in his sickle over the earth, and gathered in earth's vintage, which he drew into the great winepress of God's anger; and when the winepress was trodden out, away from the city, blood came from the winepress, and reached as high as a horse's bridle, sixteen hundred furlongs off" (14: 14-20).
l. "The first angel went on his errand, pouring out his cup on to the earth; whereupon an ulcer broke out, malignant and troublesome, upon all the men who bore the beast's mark, and worshipped his image. And the second angel poured out his cup over the sea, where it turned into blood, as if murder had been done there, till every living creature in the sea was dead. And the third poured out his cup over the rivers and the springs of water where it turned into blood. Then I heard the angel of the waters cry out, Holy thou art, 0 Lord, and wast ever holy, and this is a just award of thine, blood to drink for those who have shed the blood of thy saints and prophets; it is their due" (16: 2-6).
m. "The fourth angel poured out his cup over the sun, which thereupon was given the power to afflict mankind with burning heat; and in the great heat which burned them, men blasphemed the name of God, who disposes of these plagues, instead of repenting and giving praise to him. And the fifth angel poured out his cup where the beast's throne ~~as; and with that, all the beast's kingdom was turned into darkness, in which men sat biting their tongues in pain, finding cause to blaspheme the God of heaven in their pains and their ulcers, instead of finding cause for repentence in their ill deeds. And the sixth angel poured out his cup over the great river Euphrates, whose waters were dried up, to make a passage for the kings that march from the East.
''Then, in my vision, three unclean spirits appeared in the form of frogs; one from the mouth of the dragon, one from the mouth of the beast, and one from the mouth of the false prophet. These are the devilish spirits that can do miracles, and find access to all the kings of the world, bidding them meet in battle when the great day comes, the day of the almighty God. (Behold, I come as the thief comes; blessed is he that keeps watch, and is ready clad, so that he has no need to go naked, and be ashamed in men's sight) The place where they are bidden to meet is the place called in Hebrew, Armegedon." (16: 8-6).
n. "And the seventh angel poured out his cup over the air. Then a loud voice came out of the shrine, a voice which cried from the throne, It is over; and there were lightnings and mutterings and thunder, and a violent earthquake; since men came into the world there was never an earthquake so great and so violent as this. The great city broke in three pieces, while the cities of the heathen came down in ruins. And God did not forget to minister a draught of his wine, his avenging anger, to Babylon, the great city" (16: 17-19).
o. "And no\v one of the angels that bear the seven cups came and spoke to me. Come with me, he said, and I will show thee how judgment is pronounced on the great harlot, that sits by the meeting place of many rivers. The kings of the world have committed fornication with her; all the dwellers on earth have been drunk with the wine of her dalliance.
"Then, in a trance he carried me off into the wilderness, where I saw a woman riding on a scarlet beast, scrawled over with the names of blasphemy; it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman went clad in purple and scarlet, all hung about with gold and jewels and pearls, and held a golden cup in her hand, full to the brim with those abominations of hers, with the lewdness of her harlot's ways. There was a title written over her forehead, The mystic Babylon, great mother-city of all harlots, and all that is abominable on earth. I saw this woman drunk with the blood of saints, the blood of those who bore witness to Jesus; and I was filled with great wonder at the sight.
"But the angel said to me, Why dost thou find cause for wonder? I will disclose to thee the mystery of this woman, and of the beast she rides, with its seven heads and ten horns. The beast thou sawest is that which lived once, and now is dead; soon it must rise from the abyss, and find its way to utter destruction. The sight of this beast which lived once, and now is dead, will strike awe into every dweller on earth, except those whose names have been written, before the world was, in the book of life. Here is need for a discerning mind. These seven heads are seven hills; upon these the woman sits enthroned. They are also seven kings; of these, five have fallen already, one is reigning now; the last has not yet come, but when he does, his reign will be a short one. And the beast which lived once and now is dead must be reckoned as the eighth, yet it is one of the seven; now it is to find its way to utter destruction.
"And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, who have not yet received their royal title, but are to enjoy such power as kings have, for one hour, in succession to the beast. All of them have a single policy; they surrender to the beast the power and the dominion which is theirs. And they will fight against the Lamb, but the Lamb will have the mastery of them; he is Lord of all lords, King of all kings; whoever is called, is chosen, is faithful, will take his part.
"Then he told me, These waters in thy vision at whose meeting the harlot sits enthroned, are all her peoples, nations, and languages. And the ten horns, which the beast had in thy vision, will become the harlot's enemies; they will lay her waste, and strip her quite bare, eat her flesh away, and then burn what is left of her. God has put it into their hearts to carry out his design, and to give their dominion over to the beast, so that at last all the words of God may be fulfilled. And as for the woman of thy vision, she is that great city that bears rule over the rulers of the earth" (17:1-18).
p. "After this I saw another angel, entrusted with great power, come down from heaven; earth shone with the glory of his presence. And he cried aloud, Babylon, great Babylon is fallen; she has become the abode of devils, the stronghold of all unclean spirits, the eyrie of all birds that are unclean and hateful to man. The whole world has drunk the maddening wine of her fornication; the kings of the earth have lived in dalliance with her, and its merchants have grown rich through her reckless pleasures. And now I heard another voice from heaven, say, Come out of her, my people, that yo~ may not be involved in her guilt, nor share the plagues that fall upon her. Her guilt mounts up to heaven; the Lord has kept her sins in remembrance. Deal with her as she has dealt with you; repay her twice for all she has done amiss; brew double measure for her in the cup she has brewed for others; requite her with anguish and sorrow for all her pride and luxury. She tells herself, Here I sit enthroned like a queen, widowhood is not for me, I shall never know what it is to mourn; and all her plagues shall come upon her in one day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned to the ground; such power has the God who is her judge. How they will weep over her and beat their breasts, those kings of the earth who once lived in dalliance and took their pleasures with her, as they see the smoke rise where she burns! Standing at a distance, for fear of sharing her punishment, they will cry out, Alas, Babylon the great, alas, Babylon the strong, in one brief hour judgment has come upon thee!" (18:1-10).
q. "After this I heard, as it seemed, the voices of countless multitudes crying out in heaven, Alleluia; salvation and glory and power belong to our God; his sentence is ever true and just, and now he has given sentence against the great harlot, who poisoned the earth with her harlot's ways; now he has called her to account for the blood of his servants. And again they cried, Alleluia, the smoke of her burning goes up everlastingly" (19: 1-3).
r. "And then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth muster their armies, to join battle with the rider on the white horse and the army which followed him. The beast was made prisoner and with it the false prophet that did miracles in its presence, deluding all those who bore the beast's mark and worshipped its image; and both were thrown alive into the fiery lake that burns with brimstone. All the rest were slain by the sword of that horseman, the sword that comes from his mouth; and all the birds feasted royally on their flesh" (19: 19-21)
(1) This commentary will be found below under prophesy number 359. It may be well to read it in conjunction with the Sacred text, that is to read after each section of the text the section of the commentary that relates to it.
It is only in these two short missives that. the name Antichrist appears in Biblical literature. Moreover these are the earliest works in which that name is found. The very words of St. John, however, indicate that the Apostle did not coin the expression nor originate the idea. He says that his readers have already been told that Antichrist will come. In these epistles too we find the first clear indication that we are to distinguish between Antichrists of minor stature and the Antichrist.
a. "Not all prophetic spirits, brethren, deserve your credence; you must put them to the test, to see whether they come from God. Many false prophets have made their appearance in the world. This is the test by which God's Spirit is to be recognized; every spirit which acknowledges Jesus Christ as having come to us in human flesh has God for its author; and no spirit which would disunite Jesus comes from God. This is the power of Antichrist, whose coming you have been told to expect; now you must know that he is here in the world already. You, little children, who take your origin from God, have gained the mastery over it; there is a stronger power at work in you, than in the world. Those other, belonging to the world, speak the world's language, and the world listens to them; we belong to God, and a man must have knowledge of God if he is to listen to us; if he does not belong to God, he does not listen to us at all. That is the test by which we distinguish the true Spirit from the false spirit. Beloved, let us love one another; love springs from God; no one can love without being born of God, and knowing God. How can the man who has no love have any knowledge of God, since God is love? (1 John 4: 1-8).
b. "Many false teachers have appeared in the world, who will not acknowledge that Jesus Christ has come in human flesh; here is the deceiver you were warned against, here is Antichrist'' (2 John 7).
230. St. Jude
"What defilement there is in their banquets, as they fare sumptuously at your side, shepherds that feed themselves without scruple! They are clouds with no water in them, driven before the winds, autumn trees that bear no fruit, given over anew to death, plucked up by the roots; they are fierce waves of the sea, with shame for their crests, wandering stars, with eternal darkness and storm awaiting them. Of these, among others, Henoch was speaking, Adam's descendant in the seventh degree, when he prophesied, Behold, the Lord came with his saints in their thousands, to carry out his sentence on all men, and to convict the godless. Godless and sinners, with how many ungodly acts they have defied God, with how many rebellious words have they blasphemed him! Such men go about whispering and complaining, and live by the rule of their own appetites; meanwhile, their mouths are ready with fine phrases, to flatter the great when it serves their ends.
But as for you, beloved, keep in mind the warnings given you long since by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how they told you, that mocking spirits must needs appear in the last age, who would make their own ungodly appetites into a rule of life. Such are the men who now keep themselves apart; animal natures, without the life of the Spirit" (12-19).
231. The Apocalypse
As we have noted before the chief Biblical source of information on the reign of Antichrist is this last book by the Apostle St. John. In a way his work is a commentary on what the Old Testament, especially Daniel, has to say about the last days. But of course it is much more. It completes all the Biblical prophesies concerning events that had not yet happened when it was written, namely some sixty-five years after the death of Our Lord.
Many commentaries have been written on this last book of Sacred Scripture and it is without doubt the most difficult book to understand. This is quite natural. The prophet himself need not have understood and most likely did not understand anything more about the material than what he actually committed to writing. As a result there was very little that he could explain to his disciples by word of mouth so that they could form a traditional method of interpretation such as was the case with non-prophetic books.
This is about what one would expect. Most of the book had little or no message for the author or his contemporaries. It spoke to generations yet unborn just as had the Great Isaias, Jeremias and Daniel. When the generations for whom it was chiefly intended would come into being the true author of all true prophesy, the Holy Spirit, would in his own ways allow his elect to take from the text the knowledge that had from the beginning been concealed therein. In this then is to be found the reason why the magisterium of the Church which is based directly on tradition in all matters of doctrine and morals must depend largely on experience and the interpretation of signs when there is a question of unfulfilled or only partially fulfilled prophesy.
In choosing a commentary for reproduction in this book we have selected one written by a twentieth century personage, who seems to be a humble, realistic man and whose work is declared of Church Authority to contain nothing contrary to the Faith. It must, naturally, be remembered that most parts of his commentary, as well as those of other authors, are purely private opinions (1).
a. "Then, in my vision, he broke the sixth seal; and with that there was a great earthquake, and the sun grew dark as sackcloth, and the whole moon blood-red; the stars of heaven fell to earth, like unripe fruit shaken from a fig tree, when a high wind rocks it; the sky folded up like a scroll, and disappeared; no mountain, no island, but was removed from its place. The kings of the world with their noblemen and their captains, men of wealth and of strength, all alike, slaves and free men, took shelter in caves and rockfastnesses among the hills. Fall on us, they said to the hills and the rocks, and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the vengeance of the Lamb. Which of us can stand his ground, now that the great day, the day of their vengeance, has come? (6:12-17).
b. "And when the second angel sounded, it was as if a great mountain, all in flames, fell into the sea, turning a third part of the sea into blood, (cf. Ex. 7:20 ff) and killing a third of all the creatures that live in the sea, and wrecking a third of the ships. And when the third angel sounded, a great star fell from heaven, (cf. Is. 14-12) burning like a torch, fell upon a third part of the rivers, and on the springs of the water. The name of this star is Wormwood: (cf. Jer. 9:15) and it changed a third of the water into wormwood, till many died of drinking the water, so bitter had it become. And when the fourth angel sounded, a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were smitten with darkness, so that the day must go without light for a third of its length, and the night too. (cf. Ex. 10:21-23) And I heard, in my vision, words spoken by an eagle that flew across the middle part of heaven, crying aloud, Woe, woe, woe to all that dwell on earth, when those other calls are sounded by the three angels whose trumpets have yet to sound" (8:8-13).
c. "They were not to injure the grass on the land, the green things that grew there, or the trees; they were to attack men, such men as did not bear God's mark on their foreheads. These they had no power to kill, only to inflict pain on them during a space of five months; such pain as a man feels when he has been stung by a scorpion. (When those days come, men will be looking for the means of death, and there will be no finding it; longing to die, and death will always give them the slip). The semblance of these locusts was that of horses caparisoned for war; on their heads they wore a kind of circlet that shone like gold, and their faces were like human faces; they had their hair like women's hair, and teeth like lions' teeth. They wore breastplates that might have been of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of chariots, drawn at full speed by many horses into battle. It was their tails and the stings in their tails that made them like scorpions, and with these they were empowered to do men hurt for a space of five months. And they fought under a king; their king was the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, in Greek Apollyon, that is, in Latin, the Exterminator. Of the three woes that were pronounced, one is now past; the two others are still to come.
And when the sixth angel sounded, I heard a voice that came from the four corners of the golden altar which stands in the presence of God. It said to the sixth angel, as he stood there with his trumpet, Release the four angels who are imprisoned by the great river, the river Euphrates. So these were released, four angels who were awaiting for the year, the month, the day, the hour, when they were to destroy a third part of mankind. And the muster of the armies that followed them on horseback (for I heard their muster called) was twenty thousand armies of ten thousand. This is what I saw in my vision of the horses and of their riders; the riders had breastplates of fiery red, and blue, and brimstone yellow, and the horses' heads seemed like the heads of lions, with fire and smoke and brimstone coming out of their mouths. This fire, this smoke, this brimstone that came out of their mouths were three plagues, from which a third part of mankind perished. The power these horses have to do mischief lies in their mouths and in their tails; their tails are like serpents, with serpent's heads, and they use them to do hurt. The rest of mankind, that did not perish by these plagues, would not turn away from the things their own hands fashioned; still worshipped evil spirits, false gods of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood, that can neither see, nor hear, nor move. Nor would they repent of the murders, the sorceries, the fornications, and the thefts which they committed" (9 :4-21).
d. "And now I saw a second angel of sovereign strength coming down from heaven, with a cloud for his vesture, and a rainbow about his head; with a face bright as the sun, and feet like pillars of fire. He carried in his hand an open book. Setting his right foot on the sea, and his left on the dry land, he cried with a loud voice, like the roaring of a lion; and as he cried, the seven thunders of heaven made their voices heard. And I, when the seven thunders had finished their utterance, was making as if to write it down, when I heard a voice say from heaven, Do not write down the message of the seven thunders, keep it sealed. Then that angel, whom I had already seen with his feet on the sea and on the dry land, lifted up his right hand towards heaven, and swore an oath by him who lives through endless ages, who made heaven and all that is in heaven, earth and all that is on earth, the sea and all that is in the sea. He swore that there should be no more waiting; when the time came for the seventh angel to make himself heard, as he stood ready to sound his trumpet, God's secret design, made known by his servants the prophets, would be accomplished. Then once more I heard the voice speaking to me from Heaven, thus: Go and take the open book from the hand of that angel, whose feet are on the sea and on the dry land. So I went to the angel, bidding him give me the book. Take it, he said, and eat it; it will turn thy belly sour, though in thy mouth it be as sweet as honey. So I took the book from the angel's hand and ate it; it was sweet as honey in my mouth, but my belly turned sour once I had eaten it" (10-1-10).
c. "Then, when they have borne me witness to the full, the beast which comes up out of the abyss will make war on them, and defeat and kill them ...
"At that hour there was a great earthquake, which overthrew a tenth of the city; the count of those who were killed by the earthquake was seven thousand, and the rest were filled with dread, and acknowledged the glory of God in heaven (11:7-13).
f. "And now, in heaven, a great portent appeared; a woman that wore the sun for her mantle, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars about her head. She had a child in her womb and was crying out as she travailed, in great pain of her delivery. Then a second portent appeared in heaven; a great dragon was there, fiery red, with seven heads and ten horns, and on each of the seven heads a royal diadem; his tail dragged down a third part of the stars in heaven, and flung them to earth. And he stood fronting the woman who was in child-birth, ready to swallow up the child as soon as she bore it. She bore a son, the son who is to herd the nations like sheep with a crook of iron; and this child of hers was caught up to God, right up to His throne, while the mother fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place of refuge for her, and there, for twelve hundred and sixty days, she is to be kept safe.
"Fierce war broke out in heaven, where Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought on their part, but could not win the day, or stand their ground in heaven any longer; the great dragon, serpent of the primal age, was flung down to earth, and his angels with him" (12: 1-9).
g. "Rejoice over it, heaven, and all you that dwell in heaven; but woe to you, earth and sea, now that the devil has come down upon you, full of malice, because he knows how brief is the time given him. So the dragon, finding himself cast down to earth, went in pursuit of the woman, the boy's mother; but the woman was given two wings, such as the great eagle has, to speed her flight into the wilderness, to her place of refuge, where for a year, and two years, and half a year she will be kept hidden from the serpent's view. Thereupon the serpent sent a flood of water out of his mouth in pursuit of the woman, to carry her away on its tide; but the earth came to the woman's rescue. The earth gaped wide, and swallowed up this flood which the dragon had sent cut of his mouth. So, in his spite against the woman, the dragon went elsewhere to make war on the rest of her children, the men who keep God's commandments, and hold fast to the truth concerning Jesus. And he stood there waiting on the sea beach" (12: 12-18).
h. "And out of the sea, in my vision, a beast came up to land, with ten horns and seven heads, and on each of its ten horns a royal diadem; and the names it bore on its heads were names of blasphemy. This beast which I saw was like a leopard, but it had bear's feet and a lion's mouth. To it the dragon gave the strength that was his, and great dominion. One of his heads, it seemed, had been mortally wounded, but this deadly wound had been healed. And now the whole world went after the beast in admiration, falling down and praising the dragon for giving the beast all this dominion; praising the beast too.
"Who is a match for the beast? they asked; Who is fit to make war upon him? And he was given power of speech, to boast and blaspheme with, and freedom to work his will for a space of forty-two months. So he began to utter blasphemy against God, blasphemy against his name, against his dwelling-place and all those who dwell in heaven. He was allowed, too, to levy war on the saints, and t~ triumph over them. The dominion given to him extended over all tribes and peoples and languages and races; all the dwellers on earth fell down in adoration of him, except those whose names the Lamb has written down in his book of life, the Lamb slain in sacrifice ever since the world was made.
"Listen to this, you that have ears to hear with. The captor will go into captivity; he who slays with the sword must himself be slain with the sword. Such good ground have the saints for their endurance. and for their faithfulness (13: 1-10).
i. "Then, from the land itself, I saw another beast come up; it had two horns like a lamb's horns, but it roared like a dragon. And it stood in the presence of the former beast, to carry out all that it was empowered to do, bidding the world and all its inhabitants worship the former beast, that beast whose deadly wound was healed. Such wonders could it accomplish, that it brought down fire, before men's eyes, from heaven to earth; and by these wonders, which it was enabled to do in its masters' presence, it deluded the inhabitants of the world, bidding those who dwell in it set up an image to that beast which was smitten with the sword, and lived. Further, it was able to put life into that beast's image, so that even the beast's image uttered speech; and if anyone refused to worship the image of the beast, it had him put to death. All alike, little and great, rich and poor, free men and slaves, must receive a mark from him on their right hands, or on their foreheads, and none might buy or sell, unless he carried this mark, which was the beast's name, or the number that stands for his name. Here is room for discernment; let the reader, if he has the skill, cast up the sum of the figures in the beast's name, after our human fashion, and the number will be six hundred and sixty-six" (13:11-18).
j. "And these were followed by a third angel, who cried aloud, Whoever worships the beast and his image, or wears the beast's mark on forehead or hand, he too shall drink; but the wine he shall drink is God's anger, untempered wine poured out in the cup of his vengeance. Fire and brimstone shall be his torment, in the presence of the holy angels, in the presence of the Lamb. The smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; day and night no rest is theirs, who worshipped the beast and his image, who bore the mark of his name" (14: 9-11).
k. "Then, in my vision, a white cloud appeared; and on this cloud sat one who seemed like a son of man, with a crown of gold on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. And now, from the-temple, came another angel, crying out to him who sat on the cloud, Put in thy sickle, and reap; the crop of earth is dry, and the time has come to reap it. So he who sat on the cloud put in his sickle, and earth's harvest was reaped-. Then another angel came from the heavenly temple; he too had a sharp sickle. And from the altar came another angel, the same that had power over the fire on it, and cried out to the angel with the sharp sickle, Put in thy sharp sickle, and gather the grapes from the earth's vineyard; its clusters are ripe. So the angel put in his sickle over the earth, and gathered in earth's vintage, which he drew into the great winepress of God's anger; and when the winepress was trodden out, away from the city, blood came from the winepress, and reached as high as a horse's bridle, sixteen hundred furlongs off" (14: 14-20).
l. "The first angel went on his errand, pouring out his cup on to the earth; whereupon an ulcer broke out, malignant and troublesome, upon all the men who bore the beast's mark, and worshipped his image. And the second angel poured out his cup over the sea, where it turned into blood, as if murder had been done there, till every living creature in the sea was dead. And the third poured out his cup over the rivers and the springs of water where it turned into blood. Then I heard the angel of the waters cry out, Holy thou art, 0 Lord, and wast ever holy, and this is a just award of thine, blood to drink for those who have shed the blood of thy saints and prophets; it is their due" (16: 2-6).
m. "The fourth angel poured out his cup over the sun, which thereupon was given the power to afflict mankind with burning heat; and in the great heat which burned them, men blasphemed the name of God, who disposes of these plagues, instead of repenting and giving praise to him. And the fifth angel poured out his cup where the beast's throne ~~as; and with that, all the beast's kingdom was turned into darkness, in which men sat biting their tongues in pain, finding cause to blaspheme the God of heaven in their pains and their ulcers, instead of finding cause for repentence in their ill deeds. And the sixth angel poured out his cup over the great river Euphrates, whose waters were dried up, to make a passage for the kings that march from the East.
''Then, in my vision, three unclean spirits appeared in the form of frogs; one from the mouth of the dragon, one from the mouth of the beast, and one from the mouth of the false prophet. These are the devilish spirits that can do miracles, and find access to all the kings of the world, bidding them meet in battle when the great day comes, the day of the almighty God. (Behold, I come as the thief comes; blessed is he that keeps watch, and is ready clad, so that he has no need to go naked, and be ashamed in men's sight) The place where they are bidden to meet is the place called in Hebrew, Armegedon." (16: 8-6).
n. "And the seventh angel poured out his cup over the air. Then a loud voice came out of the shrine, a voice which cried from the throne, It is over; and there were lightnings and mutterings and thunder, and a violent earthquake; since men came into the world there was never an earthquake so great and so violent as this. The great city broke in three pieces, while the cities of the heathen came down in ruins. And God did not forget to minister a draught of his wine, his avenging anger, to Babylon, the great city" (16: 17-19).
o. "And no\v one of the angels that bear the seven cups came and spoke to me. Come with me, he said, and I will show thee how judgment is pronounced on the great harlot, that sits by the meeting place of many rivers. The kings of the world have committed fornication with her; all the dwellers on earth have been drunk with the wine of her dalliance.
"Then, in a trance he carried me off into the wilderness, where I saw a woman riding on a scarlet beast, scrawled over with the names of blasphemy; it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman went clad in purple and scarlet, all hung about with gold and jewels and pearls, and held a golden cup in her hand, full to the brim with those abominations of hers, with the lewdness of her harlot's ways. There was a title written over her forehead, The mystic Babylon, great mother-city of all harlots, and all that is abominable on earth. I saw this woman drunk with the blood of saints, the blood of those who bore witness to Jesus; and I was filled with great wonder at the sight.
"But the angel said to me, Why dost thou find cause for wonder? I will disclose to thee the mystery of this woman, and of the beast she rides, with its seven heads and ten horns. The beast thou sawest is that which lived once, and now is dead; soon it must rise from the abyss, and find its way to utter destruction. The sight of this beast which lived once, and now is dead, will strike awe into every dweller on earth, except those whose names have been written, before the world was, in the book of life. Here is need for a discerning mind. These seven heads are seven hills; upon these the woman sits enthroned. They are also seven kings; of these, five have fallen already, one is reigning now; the last has not yet come, but when he does, his reign will be a short one. And the beast which lived once and now is dead must be reckoned as the eighth, yet it is one of the seven; now it is to find its way to utter destruction.
"And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, who have not yet received their royal title, but are to enjoy such power as kings have, for one hour, in succession to the beast. All of them have a single policy; they surrender to the beast the power and the dominion which is theirs. And they will fight against the Lamb, but the Lamb will have the mastery of them; he is Lord of all lords, King of all kings; whoever is called, is chosen, is faithful, will take his part.
"Then he told me, These waters in thy vision at whose meeting the harlot sits enthroned, are all her peoples, nations, and languages. And the ten horns, which the beast had in thy vision, will become the harlot's enemies; they will lay her waste, and strip her quite bare, eat her flesh away, and then burn what is left of her. God has put it into their hearts to carry out his design, and to give their dominion over to the beast, so that at last all the words of God may be fulfilled. And as for the woman of thy vision, she is that great city that bears rule over the rulers of the earth" (17:1-18).
p. "After this I saw another angel, entrusted with great power, come down from heaven; earth shone with the glory of his presence. And he cried aloud, Babylon, great Babylon is fallen; she has become the abode of devils, the stronghold of all unclean spirits, the eyrie of all birds that are unclean and hateful to man. The whole world has drunk the maddening wine of her fornication; the kings of the earth have lived in dalliance with her, and its merchants have grown rich through her reckless pleasures. And now I heard another voice from heaven, say, Come out of her, my people, that yo~ may not be involved in her guilt, nor share the plagues that fall upon her. Her guilt mounts up to heaven; the Lord has kept her sins in remembrance. Deal with her as she has dealt with you; repay her twice for all she has done amiss; brew double measure for her in the cup she has brewed for others; requite her with anguish and sorrow for all her pride and luxury. She tells herself, Here I sit enthroned like a queen, widowhood is not for me, I shall never know what it is to mourn; and all her plagues shall come upon her in one day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned to the ground; such power has the God who is her judge. How they will weep over her and beat their breasts, those kings of the earth who once lived in dalliance and took their pleasures with her, as they see the smoke rise where she burns! Standing at a distance, for fear of sharing her punishment, they will cry out, Alas, Babylon the great, alas, Babylon the strong, in one brief hour judgment has come upon thee!" (18:1-10).
q. "After this I heard, as it seemed, the voices of countless multitudes crying out in heaven, Alleluia; salvation and glory and power belong to our God; his sentence is ever true and just, and now he has given sentence against the great harlot, who poisoned the earth with her harlot's ways; now he has called her to account for the blood of his servants. And again they cried, Alleluia, the smoke of her burning goes up everlastingly" (19: 1-3).
r. "And then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth muster their armies, to join battle with the rider on the white horse and the army which followed him. The beast was made prisoner and with it the false prophet that did miracles in its presence, deluding all those who bore the beast's mark and worshipped its image; and both were thrown alive into the fiery lake that burns with brimstone. All the rest were slain by the sword of that horseman, the sword that comes from his mouth; and all the birds feasted royally on their flesh" (19: 19-21)
(1) This commentary will be found below under prophesy number 359. It may be well to read it in conjunction with the Sacred text, that is to read after each section of the text the section of the commentary that relates to it.