A STRICTLY CATHOLIC PERSPECTIVE ON THE ANTI-CHRIST

I do not necessarily endorse anything in here - as I have not had any time to research it and have zero familiarity with the original writers that are sourced, but there is a wealth of info here that can be sifted. Much of it comes from early church writings that may have had their sources in the fertile soil of the early gospel.

As with anything on this blog, take it with a grain of salt and with the Spirit as your guide:

Links:
The Three Days of Darkness (Excerpts, Yves Dupont)
The Coming Great Catholic Monarch , By Yves Dupont
Antichrist

by

Yves Dupont
(September 1975 A.D.)

Catholic Prophecy about Antichrist
Sermon and Deeds of the Antichrist
(Close-up of the devil instructing the Antichrist)
Luca Signorelli, 1499-1502


"As in Christ dwells the fullness of the Godhead so in Antichrist the fullness of all wickedness. Not indeed in the sense that his humanity
is to be assumed by the devil into unity of person ..., but that the devil by suggestion infuses his wickedness more copiously into him than
into all others." -St. Thomas Aquinas (Summa III:8:8)

"Yet many Christians will remember that this was all foretold of Antichrist for centuries past and perceive the fraud of Satan and refuse to be deceived. They will stand firm and enlighten the faint-hearted and console them." -Bernadine Von Busto


THE TIME OF ANTICHRIST? - AS PREDICTED BY CATHOLIC PROPHECY
(TCW PRESENTS SCHOLARLY WORK BY YVES DUPONT)
In Today's Catholic World (TCW)
November 26, 2006 A.D.


(Minneapolis) -Nov 26- Provided for the readers of TCW is an article on the coming of Antichrist by the well respected expert and author, on Catholic prophecy, Mr. Yves Dupont. His article entitled, Antichrist, was written in September of 1975 A.D., and was penned as a response to an individual who incorrectly identified Communism as The Antichrist - fully negating the actual Theological Fact that Antichrist is a specific person. Yves Dupont, who was a staunch anti-communist, and a learned historian- gives a proper Catholic understanding of what to expect when the terrible "man of sin" (as St. Paul aptly named him in Holy Writ) publically appears.

Note: a portion of the Introduction section was deleted from his article. Presented here is the entire body (main content) of Mr. Dupont's scholarly article on Antichrist, drawn from his many years of studying authentic Catholic Prophecies and his thorough understanding of the immutable Theological teachings of the Church on the matter.


INTRODUCTION:

It is quite clear, from all these prophecies (Mr. Dupont mentions his well-known book titled: Catholic Prophecy), that Antichrist will come after the Age of Peace. The Age of Peace, which will also be the Age of Mary, will coincide with the reign of the Great Monarch which is to follow immediately after the collapse of Communism. .... quite apart from the hundred or so prophecies which I have just mentioned, we have the comments of the Fathers of the Church to guide us. Patristic writings are among the most authoritative in the Catholic Church.... Antichrist will believe in God. But, like Lucifer, he will rebel against God and, worse still, he will proclaim himself to be God; His spirituality will be that of the devil... he will be a Jew leading the Jewish nation. Israel may still be a negligible power on the world scene today, but by the end of the reign of the Great Monarch, it will be very powerful indeed.

Israel, then, will accept Antichrist as the Messiah and will rule over the whole world (or nearly) for a short time. Thus will be fulfilled the Talmudic dream of world domination and One- Worldism.

To sum up:

1. Communism will overcome the world for a short time.
2. God will work a tremendous cosmic miracle to destroy Communism,
3. The reign of the Great Monarch will follow. It will be the Age of Mary, a period of peace, prosperity, massive conversions, and a wonderful flowering of religious vocations.
4. Antichrist will come shortly after the death of the Great Monarch, Under his rule, the Jewish nation will overcome the world for a few months, and the Communist persecutions of our time will pale into insignificance in comparison with what Israel will inflict on the world.
5. Christ Himself will smite down Antichrist, but will not come visibly.
6. The Jews will be converted and, after a short period, probably a few years, Christ will come down again and judge the nations.

INDEX:
(The numbers refer to paragraphs, not pages)

1. Antichrist will be a man, not just a system or regime. (7, 50)
2. He will be a Jew. (1, 3)
3. He will come from the Tribe of Dan. (29, 39, 25, 26, 50, 55, 57)
4. He will be born in the Middle East. (2, 3, 24, 55, 59)
5. His mother will be a harlot possessed by the devil. (3, 37, 50, 57, 59)
6. He will be conceived by a man, not by the devil. (51)
7. He will be possessed by the devil like his mother. (23, 31, 33, 37, 51, 52, 55, 60)
8. He will be familiar with all the magical arts. (60)
9. He will be a wonder child, endowed with great intelligence and memory. (60)
10. He will be assisted by the devil throughout his life. (3)
11. He will be utterly wicked. (31)
12. He will claim to be the true Son of God the Messiah. (3, 7, 8, 12, 22, 28, 33, 50, 52, 54, 55, 59, 60)
13. The Jews will accept him as such. (7, 27, 50, 55, 59)
14. He will be made King of the Jewish Nation. (7)
15. He will re-build Jerusalem and make it a magnificent city. (12)
16. Jerusalem will be the capital of the world. (12, 29, 38)
17. He will not be an atheist; he will believe in God. (50)
18. He will re-build the Temple of Jerusalem. (1, 3, 12, 38)
19. He will sit in the Temple to be adored as God. (2, 3, 4, 8, 22, 27, 30, 33, 52)
20. He will conquer the whole world. (3, 8, 12, 29, 50)
21. Those who accept him will bear his mark, or sign. (3, 8, 31, 32, 50, 55)
22. One-third of the conquered peoples will refuse to obey him. (8, 31)
23. He will persecute and he will torture them with every refinement of cruelty, and he will make sure that they do not die so that the tortures may be prolonged. (28, 31, 53)
24. But God will not forsake the Faithful. (8, 9, 32)
25. Ireland will be spared the persecution of Antichrist. (40, 41, 42, 43)
26. He will rule the world for three and a half years. (3, 31, 32, 34)
27. He will work great wonders and deceive many. (2, 3, 8, 28, 38, 50, 51, 53, 55, 57)
28. He will be opposed by Henoch and Elias. (34, 35, 50, 51, 53, 55, 58)
29. He will put to death Henoch and Elias. (3, 53, 58, 60)
30. Henoch and Elias will come to life again on the third day, and ascend into Heaven. (53, 58, 60)
31. He will say that they are sorcerers and that he can bring them back to earth. (58, 59, 60)
32. He will rise in the air by his magical powers, but will be almost immediately struck down by Saint Michael, and killed. (39, 50, 52, 55, 58, 59, 60)
33. The Jews will finally accept Christ as the Messiah. (34, 60)
34. Some time will be given to the human race to do Penance before the Last Judgment. (50, 51, 55)


ANTICHRIST

by

Yves Dupont

(September 1975 A.D.)


Antichrist will be a human being, a particular man, not a system, a regime or an ideology. We know this for certain from Scripture, from Patristic writings and also from private revelations, although the latter, alone, would not constitute a definite proof.

1. "Christ arose from among the Hebrews, and he (Antichrist) will spring from among the Jews. Christ showed His flesh as a Temple, and raised it up on the third day; and he, too, will raise up again the Temple of stone in Jerusalem." (St. Hippolytus)

2. "Antichrist, the son of perdition will be born in Corozain, will be brought up in Bethsaida and shall begin to reign in Capharnaum, according to what Our Lord Jesus said in the Gospel: "Woe to thee Corozain ... woe to thee Bethsaida ... and thou Capharnaum that art exalted up to heaven, thou shalt be thrust down to hell. (Luke, 10:13) Antichrist shall work a thousand prodigies on earth. He will make the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the dead rise, so that even the Elect, if possible, shall be deceived by his magical arts. Puffed up with pride, Antichrist shall enter in triumph the city of Jerusalem and will sit on a throne in the Temple to be adored as if he were the Son of God. His heart being intoxicated with arrogance, he will forget his being a mere man, and the son of a woman of the tribe of Dan." (St. Zenobius)

3. "Antichrist will be born of Jewish parents, of the tribe of Dan, but his mother will not be a virgin, as many believe. As the Holy Ghost came into the heart of Mary, so will the devil enter into the mother of Antichrist, and his diabolical power will always support him. Babylon will be his birthplace, but he will be reared and instructed in Bethsaida and Corozain. After his education at the hands of malignant spirits he will go to Jerusalem and place his seat in the Temple which he will have restored. He will submit to the rite of circumcision, claiming that he is the Son of the Omnipotent God. His first converts will be kings and princes. His influence will extend from sea to sea, largely through force and persuasive eloquence. He will perform many signs and great miracles. Those who believe in him will be marked on the forehead with a sign. For three and a half years he will hold sway and, at the end of that period, he will put to death Henoch and Elias, who will have previously opposed him by preaching the true faith. Shortly afterwards, Christ will appear, and Antichrist will be killed by Michael the Archangel." (Adso the Monk, 10th Century)

4. "And we beseech you, Brethren, by the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ and of our gathering together unto Him: that you may not be easily moved from your sense, nor be terrified, neither by spirit, nor by, word, nor by epistle as sent from us as if the day of the Lord were at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means, for unless there come a revolt first and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and is lifted above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the Temple of God, shewing himself as if he were God." (2 Thess., 2:1-4)

5. These few passages suffice to show that Antichrist will be indeed a man. They show also by way of implication that he will not be an atheist for his claim of being God and the Son of God is in itself an acknowledgment that God is not a mythical being as the Communists assert. Further, he will gather together the Jewish people - hardly what the Communists are endeavouring to achieve. That anyone should say, write, and write again in spite of all remonstrances, that Communism is Antichrist leaves one baffled.

6. I now propose to present further evidence to show the absurdity of such a contention. In each case I invite the Reader to pause and ask himself if these passages fit Communism.

7. "In every respect that Deceiver seeks to make himself appear like the Son of God. Christ is king of things celestial and terrestrial, and Antichrist will be king upon earth. The Saviour sent the Apostles unto all the nations, and he, in like manner will send false apostles. Christ gathered together the dispersed sheep, and he in like manner will gather together the dispersed people of the Hebrews. Christ appeared in the form of man, and he in like manner will come forth in the form of man." (Hippolytus)

8. "This impious man ... will give orders that he himself shall be worshipped as God. For he will say he is Christ, though he will be His enemy. That he may be believed he will receive the power of doing wonders, so that fire may descend from heaven, the sun retire from its course and the image which he shall have set up may speak. And by such prodigies he shall entice many to worship him, and to receive his sign on their hands or foreheads. And he who shall not worship him and receive his sign will die with refined tortures. Thus he will destroy nearly two parts, the third will flee into desolate solitudes. But he, frantic and raging with implacable anger, will lead an army and besiege the mountains to which the righteous shall have fled. And when they shall see themselves besieged, they will implore the help of God with a loud voices and God shall hear them, and shall send to them a Deliverer ..." (Lactantius)

9. "But many who are hearers of Holy Scripture and have it in their hands, and keep it in mind with understanding, will escape his imposture. For they will see clearly through his insidious appearance and his deceitful imposture, and will flee from his hands and betake themselves to the mountains, and hide in the caves of the earth; and they will seek after the Friend of man with tears and a contrite heart: and He will deliver them out of his toils, and with His right hand He will save those from his snares who make their supplication to Him in a worthy and righteous manner." (St. Hippolytus)

10. "Antichrist will teach that Christ was an impostor, and not the real Son of God." (St. Hilary)

11. "Nero will again reappear on earth as a messenger and forerunner of the Evil One who is coming for the devastation of the earth and the overturning of the human race." (Lactantius)

12. "One day we asked St. Martin of Tours about the End of the World, and he said that Nero and the Antichrist would come first. Nero would subdue ten kings and rule in the countries of the West. A persecution he was to impose would go so far as to require the worship of heathen idols. Antichrist would first seize the empires of the East; he would have Jerusalem as his seat and imperial Capital. Both the city and its temple were to be rebuilt by him. His persecution would require the denial of Christ's divinity (he himself pretending to be Christ) and would by law impose circumcision on all. Finally, Nero himself was to perish at the hands of Antichrist. In this way, the whole world and its peoples would be brought under his yoke, until, at Christ's coming, the impious imposter would be overcome." (Sulpicius Severus)

13. (Note 1). The reappearance of Nero does not mean the resurrection of the actual Nero, but the rise of a man as wicked as he or, perhaps, a man having the same name.

14. (Note 2). Antichrist's rule is to last until the Second Coming of Christ. This cannot be Communism, but Communism, to be sure, is in itself an attempt by the devil to destroy the Kingdom of God. It may be useful to recall here the various "plans" (and their partial failure) used by the devil to destroy Christianity, which, every time, led him to try a new "plan".

15. Thus we first had the Reformation in the 16th Century at the close of the 1000 years of peace within the Church. In a world of believers such as it was then, the preaching of an atheistic philosophy was unthinkable. The purpose of the devil was to weaken and, possibly destroy the Catholic Church by substituting a watered-down form of Christianity. He failed, for the Catholic Church is still alive; but he did succeed in sowing seeds of discord and division, and in promoting the philosophy of Liberalism that came with Protestantism and gradually passed from the religious field into the economic and political areas.

16. Liberalism was condemned by the Church; liberal Catholics were warned and condemned by Gregory XVI and Pius IX in the 19th century. Leo XIII re-affirmed the judgment of his predecessors and specifically condemned the concept of a so-called "Christian Democracy" (because Democracy is the political expression of Liberalism, whilst Capitalism is its economic expression). But the Modernists took up the torch of subversion and error, and St. Pius X condemned them in the beginning of the 20th century. Their ideas, however, continued to spread underground for about 5O years until their presence prompted Pius XII to issue his Encyclical "Humani Generis". But when Pius XII died in 1958, the new heretics, then known as "Progressives", succeeded in infiltrating the Church at the highest levels. That is where we stand in 1975. "Progressivism" is in fact, the religious expression of Liberalism.

17. In the political area, Liberalism gave birth to Democracy. This, I discussed in my little book "The Popes and Democracy". In the economic field, we had Capitalism. Capitalism is based on profit alone, not on the needs of man. True, no company or corporation can be expected to work at a loss and, for that reason, the profit motive is quite legitimate, nay, it is the necessary incentive which Socialism destroys wherever it rises to power, thus bringing about complete economic chaos. But, whilst being an indispensable condition, the profit motive must not override other considerations and, although quite justified to increase the production of consumers' goods, it cannot condone speculation on non-existing money created solely by book entries. And this, I am afraid is the essence of Capitalism, as distinct from Private enterprise. To be sure, when you destroy Private Enterprise you destroy also private Capitalism but, contrary to the simplistic solution of the Socialists, it is possible to control Capitalism without destroying Private Enterprise. This will be achieved when the Banks are denied the right to issue non-existing money.

18. What are the other evils of Liberalism? In what manner did the devil succeed in undermining our Christian civilisation when he gave birth to the Reformation in the 16th century? A complete answer would take many pages; let me just mention one example: by virtue of the superiority of our Christian culture, it was just and desirable that the peoples of the West should bring to non-Christians the benefits of their knowledge. This is called colonisation. However, since colonization had hardly begun when the peoples of the West forsook their Christian philosophy, colonisation, in many cases, became a sordid affair better known as Colonialism. The coloured peoples were never won over to our way of thinking because in their eyes, we were exploiters. Yet we did give them employment, order, and a measure of prosperity. At the same time, however, we fed them our deadly Liberal concepts, and their elites, educated in our godless universities, had only one aim in mind: to shake off the western yoke as quickly as possible - and we taught them how. Such is the inconsistency of Liberalism: it exploits out of sheer greed, but it tells the exploited why they should shake off the yoke, and how to do it! So decolonisation took place after World War II at a quickening pace. But this did not assuage our former slaves; it only encouraged them to become more demanding and more militant since our Liberal philosophy is now their philosophy too. Today, they do not hesitate to blackmail us and threaten the very life of the Western Nations by denying them the petrol which they need. And that is what our Liberalism has achieved. Had we taught them Christianity instead of Philosophism, they might have been our best and most grateful friends.

19. Such are, in a few short paragraphs, the evil consequences of Liberalism in Religion, Economics, and politics. It is quite clear, therefore, that the devil did achieve a measure of success when he gave rise to the Reformation in the 16th century. He did not destroy the Catholic Church there and then, but the seeds have grown and are bearing their poisoned fruits today.

20. The devil went a stage further with the French Revolution in 1789; this time, the Catholic Church was to swear allegiance to the State, two popes were removed by force from the Vatican and imprisoned, thousands of priests and nuns were killed. But the Revolutionaries still thought it unwise to deny the existence of God whom they called the "Supreme Being". Atheism was to be left for the next stage. The Church rallied in the 19th century, but the devil had unleashed fresh forces of destruction in the nascent philosophy of Communism, for this comes straight from the French Revolution.

21. The latest attempt was the Russian Revolution in 1917. This time the stage was set for an open denial of the existence of God, for wholesale persecutions, and for the carefully planned murder by starvation of literally millions of peasants hostile to the new regime. The devil was not slow to realise, however, that even this could not destroy the religious feelings of the people. Accordingly, Communists embarked upon a policy of infiltration and dialectical argument (dialogue). Communist agents were hand- picked and trained for the priesthood in Crimea and elsewhere; Catholic papers and journals were taken over and the Communists assumed an air of respectability in their relationships with Christians. This is the stage reached in 1975, and its success appears obvious. However, appearances are deceptive, and this also will fail, and the Communists will revert to a policy of bloody destructions. This will be the fourth great attempt by the devil; it will not be confined to Russia as in 1917, it will be world-wide. But it will fail also. That is why, having realised that atheistic Materialism was still powerless to destroy the Kingdom of Christ, the devil shall try yet a different scheme: he will raise Antichrist, not in order to deny the existence of God, but in order to be adored as God Himself. For if the hearts of men cannot do without the notion of God, let us tell them that I am God. Such will be the purpose of the devil through Antichrist, and the Fathers of the Church tell us that it is so.

22. "He shall sit in the Temple of God as if he were Christ, and leading astray those who worship him." (St. Irenaeus)

23. "This accursed one is sent by the devil in order to lead men into error." (St. Hildegard) - private prophecy.

24. "Antichrist will be born near Babylon. He will win the support of many with gifts and money. He will sell himself to the devil and thereafter will have no guardian angel or conscience." (St. Jerome)

25. "Dan, Moses said, is a lion's whelp; and in naming the tribe of Dan he declared clearly the tribe from which Antichrist is destined to spring." (St. Hippolytus)

26. "Dan shall Judge his people like another tribe in Israel. Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that biteth the horse's heels that the rider may fall backwards." (Genesis, 49:17,18)

27. "He will call together the whole people to himself, out of every country of the Dispersion, making them his own, as though they were his own children, and promising to restore their country and establish again their kingdom and nation, in order that he may be worshipped by them as God." (St. Hippolytus)

28. The Last Judgment will be preceded by the imposter Antichrist, who will try to deceive men in four ways:

* By a false exposition of Scripture, wherein he will try to prove that he is the Messiah promised by the Law.
* By working miracles. (i.e. false miracles)
* By handing out gifts.
* By inflicting punishments. (St. Anselm)

29. "Antichrist will rule the world from Jerusalem, which he will make into a magnificent city." (St. Anselm)

30. "For when he is come, and of his own accord concentrates in his own person the apostasy, and accomplishes whatever he shall do according to his own will and choice, sitting also in the Temple of God so that his dupes may adore him as the Christ..." (St. Irenaeus)

31. "Antichrist will exceed in malice, perversity, lust, wickedness, impiety, and ruthlessness and barbarity all men that have ever disgraced human nature. Hence St. Paul emphatically calls him `the man of sin the son of perdition, the wicked one, whose birth and coming is through the operation of Satan, in all manner of seduction and iniquity.' (2 Thess., 2). Through his great power, deceit and malice he shall succeed in decoying or forcing to his worship two thirds of mankind; the remaining third part of men will continue true to the faith and worship of Jesus Christ most steadfastly. But in his satanic rage and fury, Antichrist will persecute these brave and devout Christians during three years and a half, and torture them with such an extremity of barbarity, with all the old and newly invented instruments of pain, as to exceed all past persecutors of the Church combined. He will oblige all his followers to bear impressed upon their foreheads or right hands the mark of the Beast and will starve to death all those who refuse to receive it." (St. Cyril of Jerusalem)

32. "And the churches, too will wail with a mighty lamentation, because neither oblation nor incense is attended to, nor a service acceptable to God; but the sanctuaries of the churches will become like a garden-watcher's hut, and the Holy Body and Blood of Christ will not be shown in those days. The public service of God shall be extinguished, psalmody shall cease, the reading of Scripture shall not be heard; but for men there shall be darkness and lamentation on lamentation, and woe on woe. At that time silver and gold shall be cast out in the streets, and none shall gather them; but all things shall be held an offence. For all shall be eager to escape and to hide and they shall not be able anywhere to find shelter from the woes of the Enemy; but as they carry his mark about them, they shall be readily recognised and declared to be his. There shall be fear outside, and trembling inside both by night and by day. In the streets and in the houses there the dead shall lie; in the streets and in the houses there shall hunger and thirst be; in the streets there shall be tumults, and in the houses lamentations. And beauty of countenance shall be withered, for their forms shall be like those of the dead; and the beauty of women shall fade, and the desire of all men shall vanish. But in spite of all this, not even then will the merciful and benignant God leave the race of men without some comfort; He will shorten even those days to the period of three years and a half, and He will curtail those times on account of the remnant of those who hide in the mountains and caves, that the phalanx of all those saints fail not utterly. But these days shall run their course rapidly; and the kingdom of the Deceiver and Antichrist shall be promptly removed. And then, finally, in the twinkling of an eye shall the fashion of this world pass away, and the power of men shall be brought to naught, and all visible things shall be destroyed." (St. Hippolytus)

33. "By means of the events which shall occur in the time of Antichrist it is shown that he, being an apostate and a robber, is anxious to be adored as God; and that although a mere slave, he wishes to be proclaimed as a king. For he being endued with all the power of the devil, shall come, not as a righteous king, not as a legitimate king obedient to God but as an impious, unjust, and lawless one; as an iniquitous and murderous apostate; as a robber, concentrating in himself a satanic apostasy, and setting aside idols to persuade men that he himself is God." (St. Irenaeus)

34. "But he who reads this passage, even half asleep, cannot fail to see that the kingdom of the Antichrist shall fiercely, though for a short time, assail the Church before the Last Judgment of God has introduced the eternal reign of saints. For it is patent from the context that the time, times, and half a time, means a year, and two years, and half a year, that is to say, three years and a half. Sometimes in Scripture the same thing is indicated by months. For though the word times seems to be used here in Latin in an indefinite manner, that is so only because the Latins have no dual, as the Greeks have, and as the Hebrews also are said to have. Times, therefore, is used for two times. It is a familiar theme in the conversations and hearts of the faithful, that in the last days before the Judgment, the Jews shall believe in the true Christ, that is, our Christ, thanks to this great and admirable prophet Elias who shall expound the Law to them. For not without reason do we hope that before the coming of our Judge and Saviour Elias shall come, because we have good reason to believe that he is now alive; for as Scripture most distinctly informs us, he was taken up from this earth in a chariot of fire. When therefore, he is come, he shall give a spiritual explanation of the Law which the Jews at present understand carnally ... " (St. Augustine)

35. "During the three and a half years of Antichrist's reign God will send Henoch and Elias to help the Christians." (St. Benedict)

36. (Note). Unlike Nero, mentioned in paragraphs 11, 12 & 13, Henoch and Elias will come back on earth in person. But this is not a resurrection, for their bodies were changed and taken to heaven without going through death.

37. "Antichrist will be possessed by Satan and be the illegitimate son of a Jewish woman from the East." (St. John Chrysostom)

38. "Antichrist will heal the sick, raise the dead, restore sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the dumb, raises storms and calms them, re-names mountains, make trees blossom and wither at a word, re-build the temple of Jerusalem, and make Jerusalem the capital city of the world with the vast wealth of hidden treasures." (Rabanus Maurus, private)

39. (Note). Antichrist cannot work genuine miracles; he cannot give life back to the dead. But he can raise again those who appear to be dead according to human knowledge and experience, but are yet not really dead. He can also re-animate dead bodies by the power of Satan so as to make them appear alive. As for his healing powers and his dominion over the elements and plants, this is not at all impossible for there is much more in the way of psychic powers of the natural order than is generally accepted. He will possess all these thanks to his master, the devil. To us, of course such wonders appear to be miraculous but they are not so in the strict theological sense. Note that R. Maurus did not say "resurrect the dead", but "raise the dead", which is vastly different since the word resurrect, despite its etymological limitations, is generally understood as meaning "bring to life again", whilst the word raise need not imply this. (See also par. 3, 52 & 55)

40. "The ocean shall inundate Ireland seven years before the End so that the devil may not rule over that people." (St. Patrick)

41. "Seven years before the Last Day the sea shall submerge Ireland in one inundation." (St. Columbkille)

42. "The sea will come over Ireland seven years before the day of judgment." (St. Nennius)

43. "The sea shall overwhelm Ireland seven years before the judgment." (Leabhar Breac)

44. "In the latter ages destitution will fall upon many people, and whenever the English will commit great evils against the children of Eire, then the English will be expelled and Eire become the property of her rightful owners." (St. Maeltamhlacht, 7th century)

45. (Note). This prophecy, which was made five centuries before the English began to subdue Ireland, is given here merely to confirm that ours are the Last Times, for Ireland is now an independent nation even though the Northern part is still under English control.

46. "Ireland will undergo English oppression for a week of centuries but will preserve her fidelity to God and His Church. At the end of this time Ireland will be delivered and the English in turn must suffer severe chastisements. Ireland, however will be instrumental in bringing back the English to the unity of the Faith." (St. Patrick, 12th century)

47. (Note). This prophecy was made four centuries before the (heretical) Anglican Church was founded.

48. "The English will betray each other, as a result of which their sovereignty will be broken, and they will stain their swords and battle-axes with blood ... The English and the Irish of Ireland will unite in one confederation against the forces of the Saxons ... One monarch will rule in Ireland, over the English and the pure Irish. From the reign of that man, the people shall suffer no destitution." (St. Senanus, 6th century)

49. (Note). Reference is made here to the coming English revolution and invasion from forces based in Germany; but this need not be during the persecutions of Antichrist.

50. "Henoch and Elias are being instructed by God in a mysterious manner in paradise. God shows them the works of men as though they could see these with natural eyes. The two men are therefore, much wiser than all wise men put together. The same force which removed Henoch and Elias from the earth will bring them back in a storm wind at the time when the Antichrist will spread his false doctrine. As long as they will dwell amongst men they will always be refreshed after 4O days. They have the mission from God to resist the Antichrist and lead the erring back to the road of salvation. Both men, distinguished by age and stature, will speak to men: `This accursed one is sent by the devil in order to lead men into error. We have been preserved by God at a secreted place, where we did not experience the suffering of men. We are now sent by God in order to oppose the heresy of this destroyer. Look, if we resemble you in stature and age.' And because the testimony of both shall agree they will be believed. All will follow these two aged men and renounce heresy. They will visit all cities and towns where previously the Antichrist had sown his heresy, and through the power of the Holy Ghost will work genuine miracles. All the people will be greatly astonished at them. Henoch and Elias will confuse the followers of Satan with thunder strokes, and destroy them and fortify the Christians in faith. Therefore, the Christians will hurry to martyrdom, which the son of evil will prepare for them like to a banquet, so that the murderers will grow tired of counting the dead on account of their great numbers; for their blood will run like rivers.

Henoch and Elias have been taught much wisdom and knowledge in Paradise while awaiting their return to earth. God will instruct them every forty days while they are on earth. They will receive exceptional graces and powers from God to use against Antichrist.

When the fear of God has been disregarded everywhere, violent and furious wars will take place. A multitude of people will be slaughtered and many cities will be transformed into heaps of rubbish.

The Son of Corruption and Ruin will appear and reign for only a short time, towards the end of the days of the world's duration; the period which corresponds to the moment when the sun has disappeared beyond the horizon; that is to say he shall come at the last days of the world. He will not be Satan himself, but a human being equalling and resembling him in atrocious hideousness. His mother, a depraved woman possessed by the devil, will live as a prostitute in the desert. She will declare that she is ignorant as to the identity of his father, and will maintain that her son was presented to her by God in a supernatural manner, as was the Child of the Blessed Virgin. She will then be venerated as a saint by deceived people.

Antichrist will come from a land that lies between two seas, and will practise his tyranny in the East. After his birth false teachers and doctrines will appear, followed by wars, famines, and pestilence.

His mother will seldom let any one see him, and yet by magic art, she will manage to gain the love of the people for him. He will be raised at different secret places and will be kept in seclusion until full grown. When he has grown to full manhood he will publicly announce a hostile doctrine on religion. He will lure and attract the people to himself by granting them complete exemption from the observance of all divine and ecclesiastical commandments, by forgiving them their sins and requiring of them only their belief in his divinity. He will spurn and reject baptism and the gospel. He will open his mouth to preach contradiction. He will say, `Jesus of Nazareth is not the son of God, only a deceiver who gave himself out as God; and the Church instituted by him is only superstition'. The true Christ has come in his person. He will say, `I am the Saviour of the world'. Especially will he try to convince the Jews that he is the Messiah sent by God, and the Jews will accept him as such. His doctrine of faith will be taken from the Jewish religion and seemingly will not differ much from the fundamental doctrine of Christianity, for he will teach that there is one God who created the world, who is omniscient and knows the thoughts of man and is just, who rewards the obeyers of his commands and the trespassers he chastises, who raises all from the dead in due time. This God has spoken through Moses and the Prophets, therefore the precepts of the Mosaic laws are to be kept, especially circumcision and keeping the Sabbath, yet by his moral laws he will try to reverse all order on earth. Therefore he is called in Holy Writ the `Lawless One'. He will think that he can change time and laws. He will discard all laws, morals and religious principles, to draw the world to himself. He will grant entire freedom from the commandments of God and the Church and permit everyone to live as his passions dictate. By doing so he hopes to be acknowledged by the people as deliverer from the yoke, and as the cause of prosperity in the world. Religion he will endeavour to make convenient. He will say that you need not fast and embitter your life by renunciation, as the people of former times did when they had no sense of God's goodness. It will suffice to love God. He will let the people feast to their heart's content so that they will pity the unfortunate people of former centuries. He will preach free love and tear asunder family ties. He will scorn everything holy, and he will ridicule all graces of the Church with devilish mockery. He will condemn humility and foster proud and gruesome dogmas. He will tear down that which God has taught in the Old and New Testament and maintain sin and vice are not sin and vice. Briefly he will declare the road to Hell is the way to Heaven.

When the great ruler (the Great Monarch who is to rule Europe after the collapse of Communism) exterminates the Turks almost entirely, one of the remaining Mohammadans will be converted, become a priest bishop and cardinal, and when the new pope is elected (immediately before Antichrist) this cardinal will kill the pope before he is crowned, through jealousy, wishing to be pope himself; then when the other cardinals elect the next pope this cardinal will proclaim himself Anti-pope, and two-thirds of the Christians will go with him. He, as well as Anti-christ, are descendants of the tribe of Dan.

The mark (of Antichrist) will be a hellish symbol of Baptism, because thereby a person will be stamped as an adherent of Antichrist and also of the Devil in that he thereby gives himself over to the influence of Satan. Whoever will not have this mark of Antichrist can neither buy nor sell anything and will be beheaded.

He will win over to himself the rulers, the mighty and the wealthy, will bring about the destruction of those who do not accept his faith and, finally, will subjugate the entire earth.

The streets of Jerusalem, will then shine in the bright- est gold with the blood of Christians which will flow like water. Simultaneously Antichrist will try to increase his wonders. His executioners will work such miracles when they torment the Christians that the people will think Antichrist is the true God. The executioners will not permit the Christians to win the martyrs' crown easily for they will endeavour to prolong their pain until they renounce their faith. Yet some will receive a special grace from God to die during the torments.

Antichrist will make the earth move, level mountains, dry up rivers, produce thunder and lightning and hail, remove the leaves from the trees and return them again to the trees, make men sick and cure them, exorcise devils, raise the dead to life. He will appear to be crucified and rise from the dead. All in all, Christians will be astounded and in grievous doubts while the followers of Antichrist will be confirmed in their false faith.

Finally, when he shall have converted all his plans into action, he will gather his worshippers about him and tell them that he will presently ascend toward Heaven. However, at the moment of the ascension a bolt of lightning will overwhelm and annihilate him. The planned ascent into heaven will have been prepared by the artful employment of ingenious devices, and the moment at which the event was to have taken place, leading to his destruction, will produce a cloud that will spread an unbearable odour. Through this many people will again come to their senses and to understanding.

Then the people should prepare for the last judgment, the day of which is indeed veiled in secrecy and obscurity, but not far distant." (St. Hildegard)

51. "As in Christ dwells the fullness of the Godhead so in Antichrist the fullness of all wickedness. Not indeed in the sense that his humanity is to be assumed by the devil into unity of person ..., but that the devil by suggestion infuses his wickedness more copiously into him than into all others. In this way all the wicked that have gone before are signs of Antichrist." (Summa III:8:8)

"(His miracles may be) said to be real just as Pharaoh's magicians made real frogs, but they will not be real miracles because they will be done by the power of natural causes." (Summa II-II:178:1)

"Although men be terrified by the signs appearing about the judgment day, yet before those signs begin to appear the wicked will think themselves to be in peace and security after the death of Antichrist and before the coming of Christ, seeing that the world is not at once destroyed as they thought hitherto." (Summa, Sup. 73:1) (St. Thomas Aquinas)

"Elias was taken up into the atmospheric but not the empyrean heaven ... and likewise Enoch was translated into the earthly paradise where he is believed to live with Elias until the coming of Antichrist." (Sum. III:49:5)

52. "The crime of Antichrist is duplex: He is against God and he puts himself before Christ. In opposing God, he puts himself above the true God, in place of all false gods and even denies the participation of humans in the Godhead. The pride of Antichrist surpasses that of all his predecessors and like Caesar and the King of Tyre he will say he is God and man and so represented he will sit in the temple."

Antichrist will be destroyed by the spirit of the mouth of Christ. That is, by the Holy Ghost or by Christ's command in that Michael will kill him on Mt. Olivet whence Christ ascended into Heaven just as Julian (the Apostate) was extinguished by the divine hand.

"Antichrist will enjoy the use of free will on which the devil will operate as it was said of Judas: `Satan entered into him,' that is, by instigating him. He shall deceive both by worldly power and the operation of miracles. In the matter of worldly power, St. John (Apoc. XIII) says `He will control the treasures of gold and silver and all the previous things of Egypt.' The power of miracles will be simulated. `He will do wondrous signs and even make fire come upon the earth' (Dan. XI) and thus, he will lead many into error even, were it possible, the elect' (Matt. 24).

"But his miracles will be lies. No one can perform a true miracle against the faith, because God is not a witness of falsity. Hence, no one preaching a false doctrine can work miracles, whereas one leading a bad life could." (Comment in II Thess. II, Lec. 1-III) (St. Thomas Aquinas)

53. "After the two prophets, (Henoch and Elias) are killed the greatest power on earth will be given to Antichrist. Then they will set up cauldrons on the streets with boiling contents, and drive the men who are known as Christians, and their wives and children, there, to choose either to profess in the Deity of Antichrist and thereby to keep their family and be rewarded with riches and a home, or to profess the Christian faith, and thereby, death in the boiling cauldron. Thereupon the women and their children, who will choose to die for love of Jesus, will be thrown into a pit of fire covered with wood and straw and burnt.

Both men are in Paradises living in bliss and eating the same foods which once Adam had eaten. They, too, must shun, in obedience to God, the same tree from which Adam and Eve were not to eat. This tree is not large; its fruit looks very nice and lovely like a rose, in the interior, however, it is sour by nature whereby is indicated the bitter evil of sin. God has forbidden this fruit because it is very harmful to men and is even now regarded as poison. An angel will accompany Henoch and Elias from Paradise. The clearness and bliss which surrounded their bodies will then disappear and they will receive again the terrestrial appearance and will become mortal beings. As soon as they will see the earth they will be frightened like people who see the ocean and do not know how they can cross it. They will eat honey and figs and drink water mixed with wine while their spirit will be nourished by God. They will appear as preachers in the last time of misery when most of the good men have already died as martyrs, and they will console the people for a long time yet. Henoch and Elias will close in on the Antichrist; they will tell the people who he is, by whose power he works miracles, in which way he came into the world and what will be his end. Then many a man and woman will be converted.

Henoch and Elias will expose the devilish trickery of Antichrist to the people. As a consequence he will put them to death. For three and one-half days their bodies will be exposed to insults and the followers of Antichrist will presume that all danger is now past, but suddenly the bodies of the two prophets will move, rise and gaze on the crowd and begin to praise God. A great earthquake, similar to that at Christ's resurrection, will take place: Jerusalem will be partially destroyed and thousands killed. Then a voice from heaven will call out "Ascend," whereupon the prophets will ascend into heaven, resulting in the conversion of many. Antichrist will reign thirty days after their ascension." (St. Mechtilda)

54. "This Prince of Liars will swear by the Bible and pose as the arm of the Almighty, chastising a corrupt age.

In the beginning he will work by cunning and crime. His spies will infest the whole world and he will become master of the secrets of the mighty. He will pay theologians to show that his mission is from God.

A war will give him the opportunity to assume his true role - this war will not be the one he will wage against a French sovereign but one which will within a fortnight involve the whole world and will be easily recognised by his mark on his followers."

(Note) Towards the end of his reign the Great Monarch will have to wage a war against Antichrist. He will win it, but will die shortly afterwards. It is likely that at this stage of his rising power, Antichrist will not yet be known as such.

"The Angels will enlighten men and in the third week they will wonder if this is truly the Antichrist, and realising that it is they will either have to fight to overthrow him or become his slaves.

Antichrist will be recognised by various tokens: in especial he will massacre the priests, the monks, the women, the children, and the aged. He will show no mercy, but will pass torch in hand, like the barbarians, yet invoking Christ! His words of imposture will resemble those of Christians, but his actions will be those of Nero and of the Roman persecutors. He will have an eagle in his coat of arms as also his lieutenant, the other wicked ruler - this latter will be a Christian who will die when cursed by the Pope, who will be elected at the beginning of the reign of Antichrist.

Priests and monks will no longer be seen hearing confessions and absolving the combatants: partly because they will be fighting alongside other Christians and partly because the Pope, having cursed Antichrist, will proclaim that all who fight against him, if they die, will go to Heaven as martyrs. The Bull, proclaiming these things will rekindle the courage of the faint-hearted and will cause the death of the monarch allied with Antichrist. Before Antichrist is overthrown however, more men will have been killed than were ever within the walls of Rome.

(Note) This is the "Nero" referred to in paragraphs 11 and 12. Nero will rule the West after the death of the Great Christian Monarch of French origin.

"Never will humanity have been faced with such a peril, because the triumph of Antichrist would be that of the demon, who will have taken possession of his personality. For it has been said that, twenty centuries after the Incarnation of the Word the Beast will be incarnate in his turn and will menace the earth with as many evils as the Incarnation has brought it graces.

Towards the year 2000 Antichrist will be made manifest. His army, will surpass in number anything that can be imagined. There will be Christians among his cohorts, and there will be Mohammedan and heathen soldiers among the defenders of the Lamb." (John of the Cleft Rock)

55. "The greatest opposition to Antichrist will come from the preaching of Henoch and Elias whom he will destroy after 1260 days. They will rise again after three and one half days. The first fifteen days will be a reign of terror. At the age of thirty-two and one-half years he will be slain on Mt. Olivet, probably by St. Michael. The jubilation of his followers will be suddenly cut short by a general slaughter. Forty-five days for repentance will intervene before the Last Judgment.

After the destruction of Rome, Antichrist will appear and exalt himself above pagan deities and the Trinity. His name signifies one who is against Christ. Begotten, of a sinful man and of a woman into whom the devil has entered, Antichrist will be born of the tribe of Dan in the city of Corozain. The good angel assigned to him at his birth will be obliged to leave him as witches, necromancers and other disreputable characters take charge of his education in Bethsaida. Coming to Jerusalem, he will proclaim himself Christ and at first feign to be holy. He will succeed through false preaching, miracles, gifts, terror, aided throughout by the devil. An evil spirit will come out of the air and descend upon his followers. He shall feign a resurrection from the dead, cause rain to fall, stone images to speak, and perform other wonders, all through the power of the devil. The recalling of the dead to life will be only apparent; devils entering the dead bodies will cause the illusion. Antichrist will be the greatest tyrant of all time. His adherents will be marked with his sign. Devils shall be let loose from hell. The Jews will welcome him." (Richard Rolle of Hampole)

56. "God alone is great. Much good has been accomplished. The saints are about to suffer. The man of sin arrives. He (Antichrist) is born from two bloods. The white flower becomes obscured during ten times six moons, and six times twenty moons (during about one hundred and eighty months), and it disappears, nevermore to be seen." (Prophecy of Orval)

(Note) Quite a number of interpretations are possible here but none should be regarded as certain: Here are two:

* 180 months = 15 years, i.e. the Great Monarch will die in 2015 and his reign will then begin between 1980 and 1990. Antichrist will be born at that time too.
* 180 months can also be 180 years in prophetic language. The last legitimate French Monarch ceased to reign in 1830. 180 years later, in 2010, his successor also will cease to reign. (Prophetic computations are always hazardous.)

57. "At the time when Antichrist is about twenty years old, most of the world will have lost the faith.

Antichrist will be descended from the tribe of Dan. The people at that time will be very corrupt. He will preach to the people while flying through the air. Many fervent priests and religious in the wilderness and desert will be miraculously sustained by God. Some of them will travel about to encourage the Christians to remain firm in the faith till death.

When a pious Christian is pleading to God for help before a crucifix in his room, Satan will disturb him in his prayers and confuse him. He will cause a voice to come from the crucifix saying: `Why do you call on Me, as if I can help you? I am not God nor the Saviour of the world, but a sorcerer, an instigator and deceiver of the people, for I was a false prophet and as a consequence I am damned to everlasting hell fire. Therefore, call on me no more, lest by calling on me you increase the pain that I must suffer in Hell. Through the power of Almighty God, whose gospel is now preached throughout the world, I am urged and compelled to tell you the truth and reveal to you that I am not the son of God, but rather the greatest sorcerer the world has ever had, and hence for all eternity I must suffer the severest pains without hope of redemption.' Also the pictures of the Mother of God at times will speak when someone will be praying before them: `Cease your supplications. I am not the Mother of God. I have no power with God. I am only a miserable creature. You should take refuge with the true Brother of the Most High, whose teachings are being taught to you today.' It will be the same with the pictures of the Saints. That it is the devil who speaks from the crucifixes and pictures but few will perceive, on the contrary, many will run excitedly to the apostles of Antichrist to accept the new religion. By order of these apostles they will trample on the crucifix and holy pictures and break them into pieces.

When a mother has her infant in her arms or puts it in the cradle, in a clear and distinct voice it will begin to speak, acknowledging the deity of Antichrist and urging the mother to leave Christ and turn to Antichrist. The child will reproach the parents, that they, in spite of the many miracles of Antichrist, still persist in their wickedness and obstinacy. Oh how much anguish will those parents have to bear! Yet many Christians will remember that this was all foretold of Antichrist for centuries past and perceive the fraud of Satan and refuse to be deceived. They will stand firm and enlighten the faint-hearted and console them." (Bernadine Von Busto)

58. "As Henoch and Elias will Preach against the Antichrist and draw many away from him, he will, as soon as he perceives the damage, march towards Jerusalem in order to prove there that he be the true Messiah and God. He will kill both prophets in Jerusalem. Their bodies will remain lying in the streets unburied, but on the fourth day they will be resurrected by a voice from heaven, `Henoch and Elias arise!' and ride to heaven in a cloud. Then the followers of Antichrist will regret having believed him and will repent their sins. Thereupon, Antichrist will make it known that after fifteen days he will also ascend into heaven, so that no one can doubt his divinity. On the appointed day he will majestically seat himself on a beautiful chair, on Mt. Olivet, in view of a large crowd and before all the people will lift himself up towards heaven through the help of evil. But, here at the command of God, the Archangel Michael will cast him down to earth by a stroke of lightning." (The Sibylle, Queen Michaula of Saba)

59. "Antichrist will come as the Messiah from a land between two seas in the East.

He will be born in the desert; his mother being a prostitute to the Jews and Hindus; he will be a lying and false prophet and will try to ride to heaven like Elias. He will begin work in the East, as a soldier and preacher of religion when thirty years old.

Antichrist and his army will conquer Rome, kill the Pope and take the throne.

He will restore the Turkish regime destroyed by the Great Monarch. The Jews, knowing from the Bible that Jerusalem will be the seat of the Messiah, will come from everywhere and accept Antichrist as the Messiah.

He will be able to fly. His flight will take place from Mt. Calvary. He will tell the crowd he is going after Henoch and Elias (who has arisen from the dead) in order to kill them again. (Ven B. Holzhauser)

60. "The conception of Antichrist will be like Christ's except that it will be by the devil instead of the Holy Ghost. He will have the devil's power like Christ had God's.

(Note) Antichrist will not be conceived by the devil in the same way Our Lord was conceived by the Holy Ghost (see par. 51). But, although of a human father, his conception will be inspired and, so to speak, supervised by the devil himself.

"Antichrist will present himself to the Jews as the Messiah. They will be his followers." (2 Thess. 2:9)

"Antichrist will have the powers of the devil from the beginning. He will be so evil it would seem his father was the devil. (See also par. 51 as note above). He will inherit his evil tendencies from his mother, who will also train him in evil.

His wife will be a Jewess but he will have many women, especially the daughters of rulers. (Dan. 11:27).

Antichrist's life will be a mockery of Christ's. He will be a convincing speaker, have great knowledge, the gift of tongues (Apoc. 13:5) and be a child wonder at six or seven.

He will take the riches of the world to Jerusalem and appear to have power over natural laws.

Elias will cause the rain, dew and snow to cease in those countries where the inhabitants oppose the two prophets and refuse to reject Antichrist. The first land to be so punished will be Palestine in order to win over the Jews.

After Elias finds the `Ark of the Covenant' of the Jews, (hidden until the recall of the Jews to God), he and Henoch will place the Blessed Sacrament upon it. The Jews will then realise the Jesus Christ and not Antichrist is the true Messiah. They will desert Antichrist and make a pilgrimage to Mount Nebo (where the Ark is found) bewailing the hardheartedness of their ancestors. Thereafter they will accept the Christian faith.

The Antichrist will kill Henoch and Elias and leave them unburied. These will, however, be resurrected after three and one-half days and ascend into heaven in a cloud in the presence of their enemy. This miraculous event will actually confuse Antichrist. In order that the nations will not abandon him, he will lift himself with great majesty into space on Mt. Olivet, with the purported intention to cast down the prophets who have ascended into heaven. But in this moment Christ will strike him down. The earth will open and swallow him and his prophets alive. Then a large part of Jerusalem will fall into ruins from the earthquake." (Dionysius of Luxemburg)

61. "Then the Son of God, Our Lord Jesus Christ, shall come in person. He shall appear on the clouds of heaven surrounded by legions of angels; and, shining with glory, He will put to death Antichrist, the Beast, the Enemy, the Seducer, and all his followers. This shall be the end of time and the beginning of the general judgment." (St. Zenobius)
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