The Apocalypse of St. John by Rev. E. Sylvester Berry [1921]

[Stone]

Part II.

1.  CONFLICT BETWEEN THE CHURCH AND SATAN

CHAPTER XII

1. And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars:

2. And being with child, she cried travailing in birth and was in pain to be delivered.

3. And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns: and on his heads seven diadems:

4. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered; that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son.

5. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod: and her son was taken up to God and to his throne.

6. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, that there they should feed her a thousand two hundred sixty days.

7. And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels.

8. And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven.

9. And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world: and he was cast unto earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.


In the foregoing chapter St. John outlines the his tory of the Church from the coming of Antichrist until the end of the world in order to give a connected account of the two prophets Elias and Henoch, (or Moses) and the result of their labors In this chapter he shows us the true nature of that conflict. It shall be war unto death between the Church and the powers of darkness in a final effort of Satan to destroy the Church and thus prevent the universal reign of Christ on earth.

Satan will first attempt to destroy the power of the Papacy and bring about the downfall of the Church through heresies, schisms and persecutions that must surely follow. Failing in this he will then attack the Church from without. For this purpose he will raise up Antichrist and his prophet to lead the faithful into error and destroy those who remain steadfast.

1. The Church, the faithful spouse of Jesus Christ, is represented as a woman clothed in the glory of divine grace. In the Canticle of Canticles the Church is like-wise described as she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun1. The brightness of the sun is a fitting symbol for the enlightening power of the Church s teachings.

The moon was beneath her feet. St. Gregory the Great and St. Augustine see in this the dominion of the Church over the whole world, and her contempt for the perishable goods of this life. The moon with its ever changing phases is a figure of the transitory things of earth.

The crown of twelve stars represents the twelve Apostles and through them the whole ministry of the Church. It may also denote the assembly of faithful nations symbolized by the mystic number twelve.

2. The Church is ever in labor to bring forth children to eternal life. In the sad days here predicted the sorrows and pains of delivery shall be increased many fold. In this passage there is an evident allusion to some particular son of the Church whose power and influence shall be such that Satan will seek his destruction at any cost. This person can be none other than the Pope to be elected in those days. The Papacy will be attacked by all the powers of hell. In consequence the Church will suffer great trials and afflictions in securing a successor upon the throne of Peter.

The words of St. Paul to the Thessalonians may be a reference to the Papacy as the obstacle to the coming of Antichrist : You know what withholdeth, that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity already worketh; only that he who now holdeth, do hold, until he be taken out of the way. And then that wicked one shall be revealed."2

3. St. John now sees in heaven a red dragon with seven heads and ten horns; each head bearing a diadem. The dragon is Satan red with the blood of martyrs which he will cause to flow. The meaning of the seven heads and ten horns must be sought in the description of the beast that represents Antichrist where they symbolize kings or worldly powers.3 Those of the dragon must have a similar meaning, and indicate that Satan s attacks against the Church will be organized and carried out by the governments and ruling powers of those days.

With the beast of Antichrist only the horns have diadems as symbols of royalty or governing power. The heads are branded with names of blasphemy.4 Hence they symbolize the sins and errors that will afflict the Church. Seven, the number of universality, indicates that in this final struggle to prevent the universal reign of Christ all forms of sin and error will be marshalled against the Church. A prelude to this may be seen in the errors of Modernism which has been rightly designated "a synthesis of all heresies." The number seven is also appropriate since all sins are included in the seven capital sins. In like manner all errors that have afflicted the Church may be summed up in these seven: Judaism, paganism, Arianism, Mohammedanism, Protestantism, rationalism, and atheism.

The dragon is seen in heaven which is here a symbol of the Church, the kingdom of heaven on earth. This indicates that the first troubles of those days will be inaugurated within the Church by apostate bishops, priests, and peoples, the stars dragged down by the tail of the dragon.

4. The tail of the dragon represents the cunning hypocrisy with which he succeeds in deceiving a large number of people and pastors a third part of the stars. Arianism led a way many bishops, priests and peoples. The pretended Reformation of the sixteenth century claimed still larger numbers but these cannot be compared to the numbers seduced by Satan in the days of Antichrist.

The dragon stands before the woman ready to devour the child that is brought forth. In other words, the powers of hell seek by all means to destroy the Pope elected in those days.

5. The woman brings forth a son to rule the nations with a rod of iron. These are the identical words of prophecy uttered by the Psalmist concerning our Saviour Jesus Christ.5 They confirm our application of this vision to the Pope, the vicar of Christ on earth to rule the nations in His stead and by His power.

It is now the hour for the powers of darkness. The new-born Son of the Church is taken to God and to His throne." Scarcely has the newly elected Pope been enthroned when he is snatched away by martyrdom. The "mystery of iniquity" gradually developing through the centuries, cannot be fully consummated while the power of the Papacy endures, but now he that "withholdeth is taken out of the way." During the interregnum "that wicked one shall be revealed" in his fury against the Church.

It is a matter of history that the most disastrous periods for the Church were times when the Papal throne was vacant, or when anti-popes contended with the legitimate head of the Church. Thus also shall it be in those evil days to come.

6. The Church deprived of her chief pastor must seek sanctuary in solitude there to be guided by God Himself during those trying days. This place of refuge prepared for the Church is probably some nation, or nations, that remain faithful to her. 6 In those days the Church shall also find refuge and consolation in faithful souls, especially in the seclusion of the religious life.

7. St. Michael, the guardian angel of the Church, shall come with his hosts to defend her against the onslaughts of Satan and his minions. The followers of St. Michael are the angelic hosts of heaven and all faithful bishops and priests of the Church. The minions of Satan are the fallen angels with the leaders of heresy, schism, and persecution.

8, 9. The battle is waged in the Church, the kingdom of heaven, from which the dragon arid his angels are cast out and hurled down to earth. The earth symbolizes the nations hostile to the Church, the world over which Satan rules. By the aid of St. Michael the Church shall purge herself of all heretics, schismatics and apostates. A similar work was accomplished by the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century.


(1) Canticle of Canticles vi, 9.
(2) II Thessalonians ii, 6, 7.
(3) Apocalypse xvii, 9-12.
(4) Apocalypse xiii, 1.
(5) Psalm ii, 9.
(6) See below, v. 14.





10. And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: because the accuser of our brethren is cast forth, who accused them before our God day and night.

11. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of the testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death.

12. Therefore rejoice, O heaven, and you that dwell therein. Woe to the earth, and to the sea, because the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, know ing that he hath but a short time.

13. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto earth, he persecuted the woman, who brought forth the man child:

14. And there was given to the woman two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the desert unto her place, where she is nourished for a time and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

15. And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman, water as it were a river; that he might cause her to be carried away by the river.

16. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the river, which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

17. And the dragon was angry against the woman: and went to make war with the rest of her seed, who kept the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

18. And he stood upon the sands of the sea.


10, 11. St. Michael and his angels give glory to God for the victory of the Church which is achieved by the power of the Precious Blood shed for man s redemption. Satan is overcome according to Christ s testimony that "the gates of hell shall never prevail" against His Church.1 Victory was also made possible by the invincible courage of the faithful who hesitated not to give their life in defense of the Church. Those shall be days of great persecution in which the Church will suffer all the horrors of the early ages, but she will likewise be crowned with the glory of innumerable
martyrs.

12, 13. The Church is called upon to rejoice over the defeat of the dragon and the glorious martyrdom of her children ; but woe to the earth and the sea, all man kind. Realizing that the time of his power is short, Satan will now loose upon earth all his rage and fury in a last effort against the Church. His attempt to destroy her from within having failed, he will now seek to crush her by hatred and persecution from without.

14. In this new danger the Church shall receive the wings of an eagle to defend her and carry her to the place of refuge which God has prepared.2 The wings are probably two armies sent in defense of the Church by some nation that remains faithful. This interpretation seems justified by verse 16.

In a spiritual sense the two wings are faith and prayer. In the faith and prayer of her children, and especially in the contemplative life of religious orders the Church shall find a refuge of consolation which Satan cannot violate. The desolation of those three and one-half years may be compared to that of the three days following our Lord s death on the Cross. The faith and prayers of Mary, of the holy women, and of the Apostles afforded the only consolation in those days of anguish.

This chapter indicates that the Church shall find refuge for three and one-half years on two different occasions; the one during the internal warfare against the Church and the other after the dragon has been cast out. It is possible that the two-fold attack against the Church will be carried on simultaneously, making the refuge mentioned in verse 6 coincide with the one mentioned here. However, the whole context seems to be against such an interpretation.

15, 16. The dragon now seeks to overwhelm the Church with a veritable flood of tribulations, but some faithful nation, or nations, (the earth) comes to her rescue. This verse proves that the great revolt of nations mentioned by St. Paul3 will not be universal. God will preserve at least one nation to defend the Church in that hour when, humanly" speaking, everything seems hopeless.

17, 18. Satan now realizes that victory will be difficult. His first attempt failed miserably. In this second conflict new tactics must be employed. He will now seek to lead the faithful astray by a false Messias whom he will raise up in the person of Antichrist. This new adversary is to spring from the sea, the nations already hostile to the Church, hence Satan takes his stand by the shore to call forth the man of sin, the son of perdition.4 It is a solemn moment of "fear and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world."5



(1) St. Matthew xvi, 18.
(2) See above, v. 6.
(3) II Thessalonians ii, 3.
(4) II Thessalonians ii, 3.
(5) St. Luke xxi, 26