02-21-2021, 04:43 PM
The New Testament
In quoting this part of the Bible we have as a rule used the most recent and to our mind the best English version, namely the Confraternity or version issued by the Catholic Bishops of the United States. We shall change the arrangement of the prophesies somewhat so that those which fit together may be more readily understood.
Henoch and Elias In The New Testament
We do not give here the texts concerning these two unless they have a prophetic content, e.g. St. Luke, 4: 25-26; St. James 5: 17-18; Hebrews 11: 5.
It will be noted that the Gospels identify St. John the Baptist with the Elias that was to precede the coming of Christ, but in that case St. John merely typified the Elias that is to appear before Christ's second coming.
219. "Suddenly he saw an angel of the Lord, standing at the right of the altar where incense was burnt. Zachary was bewildered at the sight, and overcome with fear; but the angel said, Zachary, do not be afraid; thy prayer has been heard, and thy wife Elizabeth is to bear thee a son, to whom thou shalt give the name of John. Joy and gladness shall be thine, and many hearts shall rejoice over his birth, for he is to be high in the Lord's favour; he is to drink neither wine nor strong drink; and from the time when he is yet a child in his mother's womb he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost. He shall bring back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, ushering in his advent in the spirit and power of an Elias. He shall unite the hearts of all, the fathers with the children, and teach the disobedient the wisdom that makes men just, preparing for the Lord a people fit to receive him" (Luke, 1: 5-17).
220a. "Whereas all the prophets and the .. law, before John's time, could only speak of things that were to come. And this I tell you, if you will make room for it in your minds, that he is that Elias whose coming was prophesied. Listen, you that have ears to hear with" (Matthew 11: 13-15) .
b. "And his disciples asked him, Tell us, why is it that the scribes say Elias must come before Christ? He answered, Elias must needs come and restore all things as they were; but I tell you this, that Elias has come already, and they did not recognize him, but misused him at their pleasure, just as the Son of Man is to suffer at their hands. Then the disciples understood that he had been speaking to them of John the Baptist" (Mathew 17: 10-13).
221. "And they asked him, Tell us, why do the Pharisees and scribes say Elias must come before Christ? He answered them, Elias must needs come and restore all things as they were; and now, what is written of the Son of Man? That he must be much ill-used, and despised. Elias too, I tell you, has already come, and they have misused him at their pleasure, as the scriptures tell of him" (Mark 9: 10-12).
222. "Of these, (Godless men) 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" (Jude 14-15).
223. "Then I was given a reed, shaped like a wand, and word came to me, Up, and measure God's temple, and the altar, and reckon up those who worship in it. But leave out of thy reckoning the court which is outside the temple; do not measure that, bec.ause it has been made over to the Gentiles, who will tread the holy city under foot for the space of forty-two months. Meanwhile I will give the power of prophecy to my two witnesses; for twelve hundred and sixty days they shall prophecy, dressed in sackcloth; these are the two olive-trees, the two candlesticks thou knowest of, that stand before him who is Lord of the earth. Does anyone try to hurt them? Fire will come out from their mouths and devour such enemies of theirs; that will be the end of all who try to do them hurt. These two have it in their power to shut the doors of heaven, and let no rain fall during the days of their ministry; they can turn the waters into blood, and smite the earth with any other plague, whenever they will. 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. Their bodies will lie in the open street, in that great city which is called Sodom or Egypt in the language of the prophecy; there, too, their Lord was crucified. For three days and a half, men of every tribe and people and language and race will gaze at their bodies, those bodies to which they refuse burial; and all who dwell on earth will triumph over them, and take their ease, and send presents to one another; such a torment were these two prophets to all that dwell on the earth. Then, after three and a half days, by God's gift the breath of life entered into them, and they rose to their feet, while great dread fell on all who watched them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven, Come up to my side; and, while their enemies watched them, they went up, amid the clouds, to heaven. 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' (Apoc. 11: 1-13).
224. St. Mathew On The Latter Days
a. "Yes, and you will be brought before governors and kings on my account, so that you can bear witness before them, and before the Gentiles. Only, when they hand you over thus, do not consider anxiously what you are to say or how you are to say it: words will be given you when the time comes; it is not you who speak, it is the Spirit of your Father that speaks in you. Brothers will be given up to execution by their brothers, and children by their fathers; children will rise up against their parents and will compass their deaths, and you will be hated by all men because you bear my name; that man will be saved, who endures to the last. Only, if they persecute you in one city, take refuge in another; I promise you, the Son of Man will come before your task with the cities of Israel is ended" (10: 18-23).
b. "Afterwards, while he was sitting down on Mount Olivet, the disciples came to him privately, and said, "Tell us, when will this be? And what sign will be given of thy coming, and of the world being brought to an end? Jesus answered them, Take care that you do not allow anyone to deceive you. Many will come making use of my name; they will say, I am Christ, and many will be deceived by it ...
"In those days, men will give you up to persecution, and will put you to death; all the world will be hating you because you bear my name; whereupon many will lose heart, will betray and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise, and many will be deceived by them; and the charity of most men will grow cold, as they see wickedness abound everywhere ...
c. "And now, when you see that which the prophet Daniel called the abomination of desolation, set up in the holy place (let him who reads this, recognize what it means), then those who are in Judaea must take refuge in the mountains; not going down to carry away anything from the house, if they are on the housetop; not going back to pick up a cloak, if they are in the fields. It will go hard with women who are with child, or have children at the breast, in those days; and you must pr.ay that your flight may not be in the winter, or on the sabbath day, for there will be distress then such as has not been since the beginning of the world, and can never be again. There would have been no hope left for any human creature, if the number of those days had not been cut short; but those days will be cut short, for the sake of the elect. At such time, if a man tells you, See, here is Christ, or, See he is there, do not believe him. There will be false Christs and false prophets, who will rise up and shew great signs and wonders, so that if it were possible, even the elect would be deceived ...
"Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will refuse her light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will rock ...
"So you, when you see all this come about, are to know that it is near, at your very doors ...
"And you too must stand ready; the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him" (24: 3-44). cf. Mark 13 :14; Luke 21 :25 ff.