225. St. Luke On The Latter Days
a. "Henceforward five in the same house will be found at variance, three against two and two against three; the father will be at variance with his son, and the son with his father, the mother against her daughter, and the daughter against her mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law" (12: 52-53).
b. "And to his own disciples he said, The time will come when you will long to enjoy for a day, the Son of Man's presence, and it will not be granted you. Men will be saying to you, See, he is here, or See, he is there; do not turn aside and follow them; the Son of Man, when his time comes, will be like the lightning which lightens from one border of heaven to the other. But before that, he must undergo many sufferings, and be rejected by this generation. In the days when the Son of Man comes, all will be as it was in the days of Noe; they ate, they drank, they married and were given in marriage, until the day when Noe ,vent into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. So it was, too, in the days of Lot; they ate, they drank, they bought and sold, they planted and built; but on the day when Lot went out of Sodom, a rain of fire and brimstone came from heaven and destroyed them all. And so it will be, in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. In that day, if a man is on the house-top and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them with him; and if a man is in the fields, he too must beware of turning back. Remember Lot's wife. The man who tries to save his own life will lose it; it is the man who loses it that will keep it safe. I tell you, on that night, where two men are sleeping in one bed, one will be taken and the other left; where two women are grinding together, one will be taken and the other left. Then they answered him, Where, Lord? And he told them, It is where the body lies that the eagles gather" (17: 22-37). cf. Matt. 24: 37ff.
c. "But ah, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith left on the earth?" (18: 8).
d. "And they asked him, Master, when will this be? What sign will be given, when it is soon to be accomplished? Take care, he s.aid, that you do not allow anyone to deceive you. Many will come making use of my name; they will say, Here I am, the time is close at hand; do not turn aside after them. And when you hear of wars and revolts, do not be alarmed by it; such things must happen first, but the end will not come all at once. Then he told them, Nation will rise in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes in this region or that, and plagues and famines; and sights of terror and great portents from heaven. Before all this, men will be laying hands on you and persecuting you; they will give you up to the synagogues, and to prison, and drag you into the presence of kings and governors on my account
"And Jerusalem will be trodden under the feet of the Gentiles, until the time granted to the Gentile nations has run out" (21: 7-24).
e. "Behold, a time is coming when men will say, It is well for the barren, for the wombs that never bore children, and the breasts that never suckled them. It is then that they will begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us, and to the hills, Cover us. If it goes so hard with the tree that is still green, what will become of the tree that is already dried up?'' (23: 29-31).
226. St. John's Gosple
a. "I have come in my Father's name, and you give me no welcome, although you will welcome some other, if he comes in his own name. How should you learn to believe, you who are content to receive honor from one another, and are not ambitious for the honour which comes from him, who alone is God 7" (5: 43-44).
b. "They will forbid you the synagogue; nay, the time is coming when anyone who puts you to death will claim that he is performing an act of worship to God; such things they will do to you, because they have no knowledge of the Father, or of me, And I have told you this, so that when the time comes for it to happen, you may remember that I told you of it" (16: 2-4).
227. St. Paul's Epistles
a. "Do not allow anyone to cheat you with empty promises; these are the very things which bring down God's anger on the unbelievers" (Eph. 5 :6).
b. "You must not allow anyone to cheat you by insisting on a false humility which addresses its worship to angels. Such a man takes his stand upon false visions; his is the ill-founded confidence that comes of hum3n speculation" (Col. 2: 18).
c. "But there is one entreaty we would make of you, brethren, as you look forward to the time when our Lord Jesus Christ will come, and gather us in to himself. Do not be terrified out of your senses all at once, and thrown into confusion, by any spiritual utterance, any message or letter purporting to come from us, which suggests that the day of the Lord is close at hand. Do not let anyone find the means of leading you astray. The apostasy must come first; the champion of wickedness must appear first, destined to inherit perdition. This is the rebel who is to lift up his head above every divine name, above all that men hold in reverence, till at last he enthrones himself in God's temple, and proclaims himself as God. Do not you remember my telling you of this, before I left your company? At present there is a power (you know what I mean) which holds him in check, so that he may not shew himself before the time appointed to him; meanwhile, the conspiracy of revolt is already at work; only, he who checks it now will be able to check it, until he is removed from the enemy's path. Then it is that the rebel will shew himself; and the Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth, overwhelming him with the brightness of his presence. He will come, when he comes, with all of Satan's influence to aid him; there will be no lack of power, of counterfeit signs and wonders; and his wickedness will deceive souls that are doomed, to punish them for refusing that fellowship in the truth which would have saved them. That is why God is letting loose among them a deceiving influence, so that they give credit to falsehood; he will single out for judgment all those who refused credence to the truth, and took their pleasure in wrongdoing" (2 Thes. 2: 1-11). cf. Eph. 6: 11 ff.
d. "We are expressly told by inspiration that, in later days, there will be some who abandon the faith, listening to false inspirations, and doctrines taught by the devils. They will be deceived by the prentensions of impostors, whose conscience is hardened as if by a searing-iron. Such teachers bid them abstain from marriage, and from certain kinds of food, although God has made these for the grateful enjoyment of those whom faith has enabled to recognize the truth. All is good that God has made, nothing is to be rejected; only we must be thankful to him when we partake of it" (1 Tim. 4: 1-4).
c. "It is for thee, Timothy, to keep safe what has been entrusted to thee, avoiding these new, intruding forms of speech, this quibbling knowledge that is knowledge only in name; there are those who profess them, and in professing them have shot wide of the mark which faith sets us. Grace be with thee, Amen" (1 Tim. 6: 20-21).
f. "Be sure of this, that in the world's last age there are perilous times coming. Men will be in love with self, in love with money, boastful, proud, abusive; without reverence for their parents, without gratitude, without scruple, without love, without peace; slanderers, incontinent, strangers to pity and to kindness; treacherous, reckless, full of vain conceit, thinking rather of their pleasures than of God. They will preserve all the outward form of religion, although they have long been strangers to its meaning. From these, too, turn away. They count among their number the men that will make their way into house after house, captivating weak women whose consciences are burdened by sin" (2 Tim. 3: 1-6).
g. "And indeed, all those who are resolved to live a holy life in Christ Jesus will meet with persecution; while the rogues and the mountebanks go on from bad to worse, at once imposters and dupes" (2 Tim. 3: 12-13).
h. "The time will surely come, when men will gro,v tired of sound doctrine, always itching to hear something fresh; and so they will provide themselves with a continuous succession of new teachers, as the whim takes them, turning a deaf ear to the truth, bestowing their attention on fables instead" (Tim. 4 :3-4).
i. "There are many rebellious spirits abroad, who talk of their own fantasies and lead men's minds astray; those especially who hold by circumcision; and they must be silenced. They will bring ruin on entire households by false teaching, with an eye to their own base profits. Why, one of themselves, a spokesman of their own, has told us, The men of Crete were ever liars, venomous creatures, all hungry belly and nothing besides; and that is a true account of them. Be strict, then, in taking them to task, so that they may be soundly established in the faith, instead of paying attention to these Jewish fables, these rules laid down for them by human teacher who will not look steadily at the truth" (Titus 1: 10-14).
228. St. Peter
"Remember always that in the last days mocking deceivers must needs come, following the rule of their own appetites, who will ask, What has become of the promise that he would appear? Ever since the fathers went to their rest, all is as it was from the foundation of the world. They are fain to forget how, long ago, heaven stood there, and an earth which God's word had made with water for its origin, water for its frame; and those were the very means by which the world, as it then was, came to perish overwhelmed by water. That same word keeps heaven and earth, as they now are, stored up, ready to feed the fire on the day when the godless will be judged, and perish. But one thing, beloved, you must keep in mind, that with the Lord a day counts as a thousand years, and a thousand years count as a day. The Lord is not being dilatory over his promise, as some think; he is only giving you more time, because his will is that all of you should attain repentance, not that some should be lost" (2 Peter 3: 3-9).
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.
234. Book of Jubilees (105 B.C.)
"And Enoch was the first among men that are born on earth who learnt writing and knowledge and wisdom and who wrote down the signs of heaven according to the order of their months in a book, that men might know the seasons of the years.
"And what was and what will be he saw in a vision of his sleep, as it will happen to the children of men throughout their generations until the day of judgment; he saw and understood everything, and wrote his testimony, and placed the testimony on earth for all the children of men ...
"And he was taken from amongst the children of men,and we conducted him into the Garden of Eden in majesty and honour, and behold there he writes down the condemnation and judgment of the world, and all the wickedness of the children of men. And on account of it (God) brought the waters of the flood upon all the land of Eden; for there he was set as a sign and that he should testify against all the children of men, that he should recount all the deeds of the generations until the day of condemnation.
"Enoch's office was ordained for a testimony to the generations of the world, so that he should recount all the deeds of generation unto generation, till the day of judgment" (4: 17-24).
235. Book of the Secrets of Enoch (cir. 25 A.D.)
a. "It came to pass, when Enoch had told his sons, that the angels took him on to their wings and bore him up on to the first heaven and placed him on the clouds. And there I looked, and again I looked higher, and saw the ether, and they placed me on the first heaven and showed me a very great sea, greater than the earthly sea." (3: 1-3).
b. "And I fell prone and bowed down to the Lord, and the Lord with his lips said to me: 'Have courage, Enoch, do not fear, arise and stand before my face into eternity.' And the archistratege Michael lifted me up, and led me to before the Lord's face. And the Lord said to his servants tempting them: 'Let Enoch stand before my face into eternity,' and the glorious ones bowed down to the Lord, and said: 'Let Enoch go according to Thy word.' And the Lord said to Michael: 'Go and take Enoch from out his earthly garments, and anoint him with my sweet ointment, and put him into the garments of My glory.' And Michael did thus, as the Lord told him. He anointed me, and dressed me, and the appearance of that ointment is more than the great light, and his ointment is like sweet dew, and its smell mild, shining like the sun's ray, and I looked at myself, and was like one of his glorious ones. And the Lord summoned one of his archangels by name Pravuil, whose knowledge was quicker in wisdom than the other archangels, who wrote all the deeds of the Lord; and the Lord said to Pravuil: 'Bring out the books from my store-houses, and a reed of quick writing, and give it to Enoch, and deliver to him the choice and comforting books out of thy hand'." (22: 4-12).
e. "When Enoch had talked to the people, the Lord sent out darkness on to the earth, and there was darkness, and it covered those men standing and talking with Enoch, and they took Enoch up on to the highest heaven, where the Lord is; and he received him and placed him before his face, and the darkness went off from the earth, and light came again. And the people saw and understood not how Enoch had been taken, and glorified God, and found a roll in which was traced: 'the invisible God,' and all went to their homes ... He was taken up to heaven on the first day of the month of Tsivan and remained in heaven sixty days. He wrote all these signs of all creation, which the Lord created, and wrote three hundred and sixty-six books, and handed them over to his sons and remained on earth thirty days, and was again taken up to heaven on the sixth day cf the month of Tsivan ... All the sons of Enoch, made haste, and erected an altar at the place called Achuzan, whence and where Enoch had been taken up to heaven. And they took sacrificial oxen and summoned all people and sacrificed the sacrifice before the Lord's face. All people, the elders of the people and the whole assembly came to the feast and brought gifts to the sons of Enoch. And they made a great feast, rejoicing and making merry three days, praising God, who had given them such a sign through Enoch, who had found favour with him, and that they should hand it on to their sons from generation to generation, from age to age" (67: 1-68: 7).
236. IV Esdras (1st Century A.D.)
a. "The Day of Judgment is decisive, and displays unto all the seal of truth. None shall pray for another on that Day, neither shall one lay a burden on another; for then everyone shall bear his own righteousness or unrighteousness. And I answered and said: How is it that we now find that Elias prayed for those who received the rain, and for the dead, that he might live? And he answered me and said: The present age is not the End; the glory of God abides not therein continuously: therefore have the strong prayed for the weak. But the Day of Judgment shall be the end of this age and the beginning of the eternal age that is to come."
b. "Concerning the signs of the end: Behold, the days come when the inhabitants of the earth shall be seized with great panic, and the way of truth shall be hidden, and the land be barren of faith. And iniquity shall be increased above that which thou thyself now seest or that thou hast heard of long ago. And the land that thou seest now to bear rule shall be a pathless waste; and men shall see it forsaken: if the Most High grant thee to live, thou shalt see it after the third (period) in confusion. Then shall the sun suddenly shine forth by night and the moon by day; and blood shall trickle forth from wood, and the stone utter its voice: The peoples shall be in commotion, the movements (?) (of the stars) shall change, and one whom the dwellers upon earth do not look for shall wield sovereignty, and the birds shall take to general flight, and the sea shall cast forth its fish. And one whom the many do not know will make his voice heard by night; and all shall hear his voice. And the earth o'er wide regions shall open, and fire burst forth for a long period: The wild beasts shall desert their haunts, and women bear monsters. (And one-year old children shall speak with their voices; pregnant women shall bring forth untimely births at three or four months, and these shall live and dance. And suddenly shall the sown places appear unsown, and the full storehouse shall suddenly be found empty.) Salt waters shall be found in the sweet; friends shall attack one another suddenly. Then shall intelligence hide itself, and wisdom withdraw to its chamber -by many shall be sought and not found. And unrighteousness and incontinency shall be multiplied upon the earth. One land shall also ask another and say: Is Righteousness -that doeth the right -passed through thee? And it shall answer, No. And it shall be in that time men shall hope and not obtain, shall labour and not prosper" (5: 1-12).
c. "Behold the days come, and it shall be, when I am about to draw nigh t3 visit the dwellers upon earth, and when I require from the doers of iniquity (the penalty of) their iniquity; (and when the humiliation of Sion shall be complete,) and when the Age which is about to pass away shall be sealed then (will I show these signs)" (6: 18-20).
d. "Measure (the matter) carefully in thy mind, and when thou seest that a certain part of the predicted signs are past, then shalt thou understand that it is the very time when the Most High is about to visit the world which he has made. When in the world there shall appear quakings of places, tumult of peoples, scheming of nations, confusion of leaders, disquietude of princes, then shalt thou understand that it is of these things the Most High has spoken since the days that were aforetime from the beginning. For just as with respect to all that has happened in the world the beginning is obscure (?) but the end (issue) manifest, so also are the times of the Most High: the beginnings are
(visible) in portents and secret signs, and the end in effects and marvels"
e. "In the last days thereof the Most High will raise up three kings; and they shall change many things therein, and shall exercise lordship over the earth and over the dwellers therein with much oppression, above all those that were before them. Therefore are they called the heads of the eagle: for these are they that shall bring to a head his wickedness, and consummate his last end. And whereas thou didst see that the great head disappeared - one of them shall die upon his bead, but yet with pain. But as for the two who remain the sword shall devour them. For the sword of the one shall devour him that was with him; nevertheless this one also shall fall by the sword in the last days. And whereas thou didst see two under-wings passing over to the head that is upon the right side; this is the interpretation: These are they whom the Most High hath kept for his (i.e. the eagle's) end; and their rule shall be short and full of uproar, as thou hast seen. And as for the lion whom thou didst see roused from the wood and roaring, and speaking to the eagle and reproving him for his unrighteousness and all his deeds, as thou hast heard: This is the Messiah whom the Most High hath kept unto the end (of the days, who shall spring from the seed of David, and shall come and speak) unto them; he shall reprove them for their ungodliness, rebuke them for their unrighteousness, reproach them to their faces with their treacheries. For at the first he shall set them alive for judgment; and when he hath rebuked them he shall destroy them" (12: 23-33).
f. "These are the interpretations of the vision: Whereas thou didst see a Man coming up from the heart of the Sea: this is he whom the Most High is keeping many ages (and) through whom he will deliver his creation and the same shall order the survivors. And whereas thou didst see that out of his mouth there came wind, and fire, and storm; and whereas he held neither spear, nor any warlike weapon, but destroyed the assault of that multitude which had come to fight against him -this is the interpretation: (Behold, the days come when the Most High is about to deliver them that are upon earth. And there shall come astonishment of mind upon the dwellers on earth: and they shall plan to war one against another, city against city, place against place, people against people, and kingdom against kingdom. And it shall be when these things shall come to pass, and the signs shall happen which I showed thee before, then shall my Son be revealed whom thou didst see as a Man ascending). It shall be, when all the nations hear His voice, every man shall leave his own land and the warfare which they have one against another; and an innumerable multitude shall be gathered together, as thou didst see, desiring to come and to fight against him. But he shall stand upon the summit of Mount Sion. (And Sion shall come and shall be made manifest to all men, prepared and builded, even as thou didst see the mountain cut without hands. But he, my Son, shall reprove the nations that are come for their ungodliness -which things (Le., the rebukes) are like unto a storm-; and shall reproach them to their face with their evil thoughts and with the tortures with which they are destined to be tortured -which are compared unto a flame -; and then shall he destroy them without labour by the Law which is compared unto fire" (13 :25-38).
g. "For still worse evils than those which thou hast seen happen shall yet take place. For the weaker the world grows through age, so much the more shall evils increase upon the dwellers on earth. Truth shall withdraw further off, and falsehood be right at hand: for already the Eagle is hastening to come whom thou sawest in vision" (14: 15-17) .
237. II Baruch (1st Century A.D.)
a. "God answered and said unto me: 4Into twelve parts is that time (end) divided, and each one of them is reserved for that which is appointed for it ... In the eighth part a multitude of spectres and attacks of Shedim., And in the ninth part the fall of fire. And in the tenth part rapine and much oppression. And in the eleventh part wickedness and unchastity. And in the twelfth part confusion from the mingling together of all those things aforesaid. For these parts of that time are reserved, and shall be mingled one with another and minister one to another. For some shall leave out some of their own, and receive (in its stead) from others, and some complete their own and that of others, so that those may not understand who are upon the earth in those days that this is the consummation of the times". (27: 1-15).
b. "For that time shall arise which brings affliction; for it shall come and pass by with quick vehemence1 and it shall be turbulent coming in the heat of indignation. And it shall come to pass in those days that all the inhabitants of the earth shall be moved one against another, because they know not that My judgment has drawn nigh. For there shall not be found many wise at that time, and the intelligent shall be but a few; Moreover, even those who know shall most of all be silent. And there shall be many rumours and tidings not a few, and the doings of phantasmata shall be manifest, and promises not a few be recounted, some of them shall prove idle, and some of them shall be confirmed. And honour shall be turned into shame, and strength humiliated into contempt, and probity destroyed, and beauty· shall become ugliness. And many shall say to many at that time: 'Where hath the multitude of intelligence hidden itself, and whither hath the multitude of wisdom removed itself?' And whilst they are meditating these things, then envy shall arise in those who had not thought aught of themselves and passion shall seize him that is peaceful, and many shall be stirred up in anger to injure many, and they shall rouse up armies in order to shed blood, and in the end they shall perish together with them. And it shall come to pass at the self-same time, that a change of times shall manifestly appear to every man, because in all those times they polluted themselves and they practiced oppression, and walked every man in his own works, and remembered not the law of the Mighty One. Therefore a fire shall consume their thoughts, and in flame shall the meditations of their reins be tried: for the Judge shall come and will not tarry. Because each of the inhabitants of the earth knew when he was transgressing. But My law they knew not by reason their pride. But many shall then assuredly weep, Yea, over the living more than over the dead. And I answered and said: "O Adam, what hast thou done to all those who are born from thee?' And what will be said to the first Eve who hearkened to the serpent? For all this multitude are going to corruption, nor is there any numbering of those whom the fire devours" (48: 31-43).
c. "Behold! the days come, and it shall be when the time of the age has ripened, and the harvest of its evil and good seeds has come, that the Mighty One will bring upon the earth and its inhabitants and upon its rulers perturbation of spirit and stupor of heart. And they shall hate one another, and provoke one another to fight" (2 Bar. 70: 2-3).
d. "And when those things which were predicted have come to pass, then shall confusion fall upon all men, and some of them shall fall in battle, and some of them shall perish in anguish, and some of them shall be destroyed by their own. Then the Most High will reveal those peoples whom He has prepared before, and they shall come and make war with the leaders that shall then be left. And it shall come to pass that whosoever gets safe out of the war shall die in the earthquake, and whosoever gets safe out of the earthquake shall be burned by the fire, and whosoever gets safe out of the fire shall be destroyed by famine ... For all the earth shall devour its inhabitants" (70: 6-10).