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

[Stone]

PART THIRD

FROM THE CLOSING OF THE ABYSS TO THE END OF THE WORLD


THE UNIVERSAL REIGN OF JESUS CHRIST


And I saw an angel corning down from heaven, having the keg to the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon,
the old serpent, which is the devil and satan, and bound him for a thousand years. APOCALYPSE xx, 1,2.

CHAPTER XX


The words of St. Paul to the Thessalonians 1 prove clearly that Antichrist must be a definite individual, and our study of the Apocalypse shows that he has not yet made his appearance in the world. But practically all interpreters who accept these conclusions take the reign of Antichrist as a prelude to the last judgment and the end of the world. Then, contrary to the plain sense of Holy Scripture, they place the universal reign of Christ before the time of Antichrist. This, in turn, makes the chaining of the dragon a difficult problem Some refer it to the time of our Saviour's death, or to the day of Pentecost. Others fix upon the date of Constantine's conversion, the reign of Charlemagne, the fall of the Western Empire, or the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, all purely arbitrary dates as their great divergencies prove.

A careful reading of the Apocalypse shows clearly that Antichrist will appear long centuries before the last judgment and the end of the world. In fact his reign will be but the final attempt of Satan to prevent the universal reign of Christ in the world. Since the day of Pentecost the Church has been engaged in perpetual warfare. Judaism was her first enemy; then followed Arianism, Mohammedanism, the Greek Schism, the Reformation, and secret societies fostering atheism and rationalism. Today she is also battling against indifferentism and a recrudescence of paganism. The reign of Antichrist shall be the final conflict in this prolonged struggle with the powers of darkness.

After the defeat of Antichrist the Gentile nations will return to the Church and the Jews will enter her fold. Then shall be fulfilled the words of Christ: "There shall be one fold and one shepherd."2 Unfortunately sin and evil will not have entirely disappeared, the good and the bad will still be mingled in the Church, although the good shall predominate. After many centuries, symbolized by a thousand years, faith will diminish and charity grow cold as a result of the long peace and security enjoyed by the Church. Then Satan, unchained for a short time, will seduce many nations (Gog and Magog) to make war on the Church and persecute the faithful. These apostate nations shall be promptly overwhelmed with a deluge of fire and the Church will come forth again triumphant. The general judgment and the end of the world will then be near at hand. Men will be living in daily expectation until our Lord appears in the clouds with the suddenness of a lightning flash. Then shall all people be gathered together unto judgment.

The establishment of the Church over all nations is foretold on almost every page of Holy Scripture. "He shall rule from sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of the earth. . . . And all kings of the earth shall adore him; and all nations shall serve him."4 "All the nations thou has made shall come and adore before thee, O Lord," His empire shall be multiplied and there shall be no end of peace."5 "His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all kings shall serve him and obey him."7 "He shall speak peace to the Gentiles, and his power shall be from sea to sea, and from the rivers even to the ends of the earth."8

The Apostles Were sent forth to preach the Gospel to all nations and to every creature,9 and St. Paul applies to them the words of the Psalmist: "Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the end of the whole world."10 Can it be supposed that these prophecies are fulfilled by the conversion of a few thou sand souls in the various pagan countries of the world? Can we admit that a world steeped in paganism, and torn with schism and heresy is the only result of Christ's death upon the Cross? Such an admission is necessary if the closing of the abyss and the binding of Satan be placed at the beginning of Christianity, and the thousand years of Christ's reign, before the defeat of Antichrist.

The prophecies cited above and hundreds of others scattered through the Scriptures make it certain that the reign of Christ shall be truly universal. After the Gentile nations return to the Faith, the Jews shall also submit to the yoke of the Gospel. St. Paul states this fact very plainly: "Blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles should come in. And so all Israel shall be saved as it is written: "There shall come out of Sion, he that shall deliver, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob."11 Again he writes: "If the loss of them (the Jews) be the reconciliation of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?"12

These prophecies will not be fulfilled before the time of Antichrist, since the Apocalypse clearly shows that he will come into a world harassed by paganism, apostacy, schism, and heresy.13 The Jews still unconverted, will accept him as Messias and assist in his warfare against the Church. Only after the defeat of Antichrist and the return of the Gentile nations to the Faith, will the Jews accept Christ as the true Messias. Then shall begin the universal reign of Christ over all peoples, and tribes, and tongues.

After the destruction of Rome in the days of Antichrist, it shall remain forever but a heap of ruins, and the haunt of filthy animals; "that great city shall be found no more at all." This fact taken in connection with the many prophecies concerning the future glory of Jerusalem, justifies the belief that it will become the city of the Popes and the capital of Christendom from the time of Antichrist until the consummation of the world. This, we believe, is not opposed to the teaching of the Church. Many theologians hold that the Papacy is connected with the bishopric of Rome by divine institution; yet this cannot be an article of Faith because it is contained neither in Scripture nor in tradition. It is of faith that the successor of St. Peter is head of the Church, and in the present order of things it is also of faith that the bishop of Rome is the successor of St. Peter."

Transfer of the Papacy from Rome to Jerusalem might be made by decree of a general council acting with the Pope, or by direct intervention of divine Providence. The prophets of old foretell the future glory of Jerusalem when it shall become again the Holy City and the spiritual capital of the world whence the waters of salvation flow out to all peoples. It shall also become the capital of a Jewish nation gathered about it once more. A few texts will suffice to establish these points. "Rejoice and praise, thou habitation of Sion: for great is he that is in the midst of thee, the Holy One of Israel."16

"Sing praise, and rejoice, daughter of Sion: for behold I come and I will dwell in the midst of thee," saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and they shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of thee."17 "And there shall be one day, which is known to the Lord. . . . And it shall come to pass in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem: half of them to the east sea, and half of them to the last sea; they shall be in summer and winter. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth: in that day there shall be one Lord, and His name shall be one . . . and there shall be no more anathema; but Jerusalem shall sit secure."18 "At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord : and all the nations shall be gathered together to it, in the name of the Lord of Jerusalem, and they shall not! walk after the perversity of their most wicked heart."19

"Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I am returned to Sion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts. Behold I will save my people from the land of the east, and from the land of the going down of the sun. And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God in truth and injustice. . . . And it shall come to pass, that as you were a curse among the Gentiles, O house of Juda, and house of Israel: so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing."20

These and similar prophecies aroused in the Jewish breast an anxious longing for the glorious awakening of Israel. The people looked forward to the long expected Messias as a great leader of the restoration. The Apostles shared this expectation of their countrymen. When our Lord told them the Holy Ghost was shortly to come upon them they said : Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" Christ did not tell them their expectations were vain; He simply said: "It is not for you to know the times or moments which the Father has put in his own power."21 He told them, in effect, that the kingdom would be restored to Israel but it was not for them to know the time because the Father had not revealed it.

(1) II Thessalonians ii, 8.
(2) St. Johnx, 16.
(3) St. Matthew xxiv, ,27.
(4) Ps. fed, 8, 9.
(5) Ps. Ixxxv, 9.
(6) Isaias ix, 7.
(7) Daniel vii, 27.
(8) Zacharias ix, 10.
(9) St. Matthew xxviii, 16; St. Luke xvi, 15.
(10) Romans x, 18; Ps. xviii, 5.
(11) Romans xi, 25, 26; Isaias lix, 20.
(12) Romans xi, 15.
(13) Apocalypse ix, 20, 21.
(14) Tanquery, "Synopsis Theol. Dogm" pp. 383-4 .
(15) St. Matthew xxiii, 38, 39.
(16) Isaias xii, 6.
(17) Zacharias ii, 10, 12.
(18) Zacharias xiv, 7-11.
(19) Jeremias iii, 17.
(20) Zacharias viii, 3, 7, 8, 13.
(21) Acts of the Apostles i, 2.