Tuesday 30 April 2013

St. Augustine of Hippo on the Millennium

 

Saint Augustine in His Study by Sandro Botticelli, 1480

 

City of God (Book XX)


Chapter 7.— What is Written in the Revelation of John Regarding the Two Resurrections, and the Thousand Years, and What May Reasonably Be Held on These Points.

The evangelist John has spoken of these two resurrections in the book which is called the Apocalypse, but in such a way that some Christians do not understand the first of the two, and so construe the passage into ridiculous fancies. For the Apostle John says in the foresaid book, And I saw an angel come down from heaven. . . . Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Those who, on the strength of this passage, have suspected that the first resurrection is future and bodily, have been moved, among other things, specially by the number of a thousand years, as if it were a fit thing that the saints should thus enjoy a kind of Sabbath-rest during that period, a holy leisure after the labors of the six thousand years since man was created, and was on account of his great sin dismissed from the blessedness of paradise into the woes of this mortal life, so that thus, as it is written, One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day, 2 Peter 3:8 there should follow on the completion of six thousand years, as of six days, a kind of seventh-day Sabbath in the succeeding thousand years; and that it is for this purpose the saints rise, viz., to celebrate this Sabbath. And this opinion would not be objectionable, if it were believed that the joys of the saints in that Sabbath shall be spiritual, and consequent on the presence of God; for I myself, too, once held this opinion. But, as they assert that those who then rise again shall enjoy the leisure of immoderate carnal banquets, furnished with an amount of meat and drink such as not only to shock the feeling of the temperate, but even to surpass the measure of credulity itself, such assertions can be believed only by the carnal. They who do believe them are called by the spiritual Chiliasts, which we may literally reproduce by the name Millenarians. It were a tedious process to refute these opinions point by point: we prefer proceeding to show how that passage of Scripture should be understood.
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself says, No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man — meaning by the strong man the devil, because he had power to take captive the human race; and meaning by his goods which he was to take, those who had been held by the devil in various sins and iniquities, but were to become believers in Himself. It was then for the binding of this strong one that the apostle saw in the Apocalypse an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a chain in his hand. And he laid hold, he says, on the dragon, that old serpent, which is called the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,— that is, bridled and restrained his power so that he could not seduce and gain possession of those who were to be freed. Now the thousand years may be understood in two ways, so far as occurs to me: either because these things happen in the sixth thousand of years or sixth millennium (the latter part of which is now passing), as if during the sixth day, which is to be followed by a Sabbath which has no evening, the endless rest of the saints, so that, speaking of a part under the name of the whole, he calls the last part of the millennium— the part, that is, which had yet to expire before the end of the world— a thousand years; or he used the thousand years as an equivalent for the whole duration of this world, employing the number of perfection to mark the fullness of time. For a thousand is the cube of ten. For ten times ten makes a hundred, that is; the square on a plane superficies. But to give this superficies height, and make it a cube, the hundred is again multiplied by ten, which gives a thousand. Besides, if a hundred is sometimes used for totality, as when the Lord said by way of promise to him that left all and followed Him He shall receive in this world an hundredfold; Matthew 19:29 of which the apostle gives, as it were, an explanation when he says, As having nothing, yet possessing all things, 2 Corinthians 6:10 — for even of old it had been said, The whole world is the wealth of a believer,— with how much greater reason is a thousand put for totality since it is the cube, while the other is only the square? And for the same reason we cannot better interpret the words of the psalm, He has been mindful of His covenant for ever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations, than by understanding it to mean to all generations.
And he cast him into the abyss,i.e., cast the devil into the abyss. By the abyss is meant the countless multitude of the wicked whose hearts are unfathomably deep in malignity against the Church of God; not that the devil was not there before, but he is said to be cast in there, because, when prevented from harming believers, he takes more complete possession of the ungodly. For that man is more abundantly possessed by the devil who is not only alienated from God, but also gratuitously hates those who serve God. And shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled. Shut him up,i.e., prohibited him from going out, from doing what was forbidden. And the addition of set a seal upon him seems to me to mean that it was designed to keep it a secret who belonged to the devil's party and who did not. For in this world this is a secret, for we cannot tell whether even the man who seems to stand shall fall, or whether he who seems to lie shall rise again. But by the chain and prison-house of this interdict the devil is prohibited and restrained from seducing those nations which belong to Christ, but which he formerly seduced or held in subjection. For before the foundation of the world God chose to rescue these from the power of darkness, and to translate them into the kingdom of the Son of His love, as the apostle says. Colossians 1:13 For what Christian is not aware that he seduces nations even now, and draws them with himself to eternal punishment, but not those predestined to eternal life? And let no one be dismayed by the circumstance that the devil often seduces even those who have been regenerated in Christ, and begun to walk in God's way. For the Lord knows them that are His, 2 Timothy 2:19 and of these the devil seduces none to eternal damnation. For it is as God, from whom nothing is hid even of things future, that the Lord knows them; not as a man, who sees a man at the present time (if he can be said to see one whose heart he does not see), but does not see even himself so far as to be able to know what kind of person he is to be. The devil, then, is bound and shut up in the abyss that he may not seduce the nations from which the Church is gathered, and which he formerly seduced before the Church existed. For it is not said that he should not seduce any man, but that he should not seduce the nations— meaning, no doubt, those among which the Church exists— till the thousand years should be fulfilled,i.e., either what remains of the sixth day which consists of a thousand years, or all the years which are to elapse till the end of the world.
The words, that he should not seduce the nations till the thousand years should be fulfilled, are not to be understood as indicating that afterwards he is to seduce only those nations from which the predestined Church is composed, and from seducing whom he is restrained by that chain and imprisonment; but they are used in conformity with that usage frequently employed in Scripture and exemplified in the psalm, So our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until He have mercy upon us, — not as if the eyes of His servants would no longer wait upon the Lord their God when He had mercy upon them. Or the order of the words is unquestionably this, And he shut him up and set a seal upon him, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and the interposed clause, that he should seduce the nations no more, is not to be understood in the connection in which it stands, but separately, and as if added afterwards, so that the whole sentence might be read, And He shut him up and set a seal upon him till the thousand years should be fulfilled, that he should seduce the nations no more,i.e., he is shut up till the thousand years be fulfilled, on this account, that he may no more deceive the nations.

Chapter 8.— Of the Binding and Loosing of the Devil.

After that, says John, he must be loosed a little season. If the binding and shutting up of the devil means his being made unable to seduce the Church, must his loosing be the recovery of this ability? By no means. For the Church predestined and elected before the foundation of the world, the Church of which it is said, The Lord knows them that are His, shall never be seduced by him. And yet there shall be a Church in this world even when the devil shall be loosed, as there has been since the beginning, and shall be always, the places of the dying being filled by new believers. For a little after John says that the devil, being loosed, shall draw the nations whom he has seduced in the whole world to make war against the Church, and that the number of these enemies shall be as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. And the devil who seduced them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Revelation 20:9-10 This relates to the last judgment, but I have thought fit to mention it now, lest any one might suppose that in that short time during which the devil shall be loose there shall be no Church upon earth, whether because the devil finds no Church, or destroys it by manifold persecutions. The devil, then, is not bound during the whole time which this book embraces—that is, from the first coming of Christ to the end of the world, when He shall come the second time,— not bound in this sense, that during this interval, which goes by the name of a thousand years, he shall not seduce the Church, for not even when loosed shall he seduce it. For certainly if his being bound means that he is not able or not permitted to seduce the Church, what can the loosing of him mean but his being able or permitted to do so? But God forbid that such should be the case! But the binding of the devil is his being prevented from the exercise of his whole power to seduce men, either by violently forcing or fraudulently deceiving them into taking part with him. If he were during so long a period permitted to assail the weakness of men, very many persons, such as God would not wish to expose to such temptation, would have their faith overthrown, or would be prevented from believing; and that this might not happen, he is bound.
But when the short time comes he shall be loosed. For he shall rage with the whole force of himself and his angels for three years and six months; and those with whom he makes war shall have power to withstand all his violence and stratagems. And if he were never loosed, his malicious power would be less patent, and less proof would be given of the steadfast fortitude of the holy city: it would, in short, be less manifest what good use the Almighty makes of his great evil. For the Almighty does not absolutely seclude the saints from his temptation, but shelters only their inner man, where faith resides, that by outward temptation they may grow in grace. And He binds him that he may not, in the free and eager exercise of his malice, hinder or destroy the faith of those countless weak persons, already believing or yet to believe, from whom the Church must be increased and completed; and he will in the end loose him, that the city of God may see how mighty an adversary it has conquered, to the great glory of its Redeemer, Helper, Deliverer. And what are we in comparison with those believers and saints who shall then exist, seeing that they shall be tested by the loosing of an enemy with whom we make war at the greatest peril even when he is bound? Although it is also certain that even in this intervening period there have been and are some soldiers of Christ so wise and strong, that if they were to be alive in this mortal condition at the time of his loosing, they would both most wisely guard against, and most patiently endure, all his snares and assaults.
Now the devil was thus bound not only when the Church began to be more and more widely extended among the nations beyond Judea, but is now and shall be bound till the end of the world, when he is to be loosed. Because even now men are, and doubtless to the end of the world shall be, converted to the faith from the unbelief in which he held them. And this strong one is bound in each instance in which he is spoiled of one of his goods; and the abyss in which he is shut up is not at an end when those die who were alive when first he was shut up in it, but these have been succeeded, and shall to the end of the world be succeeded, by others born after them with a like hate of the Christians, and in the depth of whose blind hearts he is continually shut up as in an abyss. But it is a question whether, during these three years and six months when he shall be loose, and raging with all his force, any one who has not previously believed shall attach himself to the faith. For how in that case would the words hold good, Who enters into the house of a strong one to spoil his goods, unless first he shall have bound the strong one? Consequently this verse seems to compel us to believe that during that time, short as it is, no one will be added to the Christian community, but that the devil will make war with those who have previously become Christians, and that, though some of these may be conquered and desert to the devil, these do not belong to the predestinated number of the sons of God. For it is not without reason that John, the same apostle as wrote this Apocalypse, says in his epistle regarding certain persons, They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have remained with us. 1 John 2:19 But what shall become of the little ones? For it is beyond all belief that in these days there shall not be found some Christian children born, but not yet baptized, and that there shall not also be some born during that very period; and if there be such, we cannot believe that their parents shall not find some way of bringing them to the laver of regeneration. But if this shall be the case, how shall these goods be snatched from the devil when he is loose, since into his house no man enters to spoil his goods unless he has first bound him? On the contrary, we are rather to believe that in these days there shall be no lack either of those who fall away from, or of those who attach themselves to the Church; but there shall be such resoluteness, both in parents to seek baptism for their little ones, and in those who shall then first believe, that they shall conquer that strong one, even though unbound,— that is, shall both vigilantly comprehend, and patiently bear up against him, though employing such wiles and putting forth such force as he never before used; and thus they shall be snatched from him even though unbound. And yet the verse of the Gospel will not be untrue, Who enters into the house of the strong one to spoil his goods, unless he shall first have bound the strong one? For in accordance with this true saying that order is observed— the strong one first bound, and then his goods spoiled; for the Church is so increased by the weak and strong from all nations far and near, that by its most robust faith in things divinely predicted and accomplished, it shall be able to spoil the goods of even the unbound devil. For as we must own that, when iniquity abounds, the love of many waxes cold, Matthew 24:12 and that those who have not been written in the book of life shall in large numbers yield to the severe and unprecedented persecutions and stratagems of the devil now loosed, so we cannot but think that not only those whom that time shall find sound in the faith, but also some who till then shall be without, shall become firm in the faith they have hitherto rejected and mighty to conquer the devil even though unbound, God's grace aiding them to understand the Scriptures, in which, among other things, there is foretold that very end which they themselves see to be arriving. And if this shall be so, his binding is to be spoken of as preceding, that there might follow a spoiling of him both bound and loosed; for it is of this it is said, Who shall enter into the house of the strong one to spoil his goods, unless he shall first have bound the strong one?

Chapter 9.— What the Reign of the Saints with Christ for a Thousand Years Is, and How It Differs from the Eternal Kingdom.

But while the devil is bound, the saints reign with Christ during the same thousand years, understood in the same way, that is, of the time of His first coming. For, leaving out of account that kingdom concerning which He shall say in the end, Come, you blessed of my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you, Matthew 25:34 the Church could not now be called His kingdom or the kingdom of heaven unless His saints were even now reigning with Him, though in another and far different way; for to His saints He says, Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Matthew 28:20 Certainly it is in this present time that the scribe well instructed in the kingdom of God, and of whom we have already spoken, brings forth from his treasure things new and old. And from the Church those reapers shall gather out the tares which He suffered to grow with the wheat till the harvest, as He explains in the words The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered together and burned with fire, so shall it be in the end of the world. The Son of man shall send His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all offenses. Matthew 13:39-41 Can He mean out of that kingdom in which are no offenses? Then it must be out of His present kingdom, the Church, that they are gathered. So He says, He that breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but he that does and teaches thus shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:19 He speaks of both as being in the kingdom of heaven, both the man who does not perform the commandments which He teaches—for to break means not to keep, not to perform—and the man who does and teaches as He did; but the one He calls least, the other great. And He immediately adds, For I say unto you, that unless your righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees,— that is, the righteousness of those who break what they teach; for of the scribes and Pharisees He elsewhere says, For they say and do not; Matthew 23:3 — unless therefore, your righteousness exceed theirs that is, so that you do not break but rather do what you teach, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:20 We must understand in one sense the kingdom of heaven in which exist together both he who breaks what he teaches and he who does it, the one being least, the other great, and in another sense the kingdom of heaven into which only he who does what he teaches shall enter. Consequently, where both classes exist, it is the Church as it now is, but where only the one shall exist, it is the Church as it is destined to be when no wicked person shall be in her. Therefore the Church even now is the kingdom of Christ, and the kingdom of heaven. Accordingly, even now His saints reign with Him, though otherwise than as they shall reign hereafter; and yet, though the tares grow in the Church along with the wheat, they do not reign with Him. For they reign with Him who do what the apostle says, If you be risen with Christ, mind the things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Seek those things which are above, not the things which are on the earth. Colossians 3:1-2 Of such persons he also says that their conversation is in heaven. Philippians 3:20 In fine, they reign with Him who are so in His kingdom that they themselves are His kingdom. But in what sense are those the kingdom of Christ who, to say no more, though they are in it until all offenses are gathered out of it at the end of the world, yet seek their own things in it, and not the things that are Christ's? Philippians 2:21
It is then of this kingdom militant, in which conflict with the enemy is still maintained, and war carried on with warring lusts, or government laid upon them as they yield, until we come to that most peaceful kingdom in which we shall reign without an enemy, and it is of this first resurrection in the present life, that the Apocalypse speaks in the words just quoted. For, after saying that the devil is bound a thousand years and is afterwards loosed for a short season, it goes on to give a sketch of what the Church does or of what is done in the Church in those days, in the words, And I saw seats and them that sat upon them, and judgment was given. It is not to be supposed that this refers to the last judgment, but to the seats of the rulers and to the rulers themselves by whom the Church is now governed. And no better interpretation of judgment being given can be produced than that which we have in the words, What ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what ye loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:18 Whence the apostle says, What have I to do with judging them that are without? Do not ye judge them that are within? 1 Corinthians 5:12 And the souls, says John, of those who were slain for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God,— understanding what he afterwards says, reigned with Christ a thousand years, Revelation 20:4 — that is, the souls of the martyrs not yet restored to their bodies. For the souls of the pious dead are not separated from the Church, which even now is the kingdom of Christ; otherwise there would be no remembrance made of them at the altar of God in the partaking of the body of Christ, nor would it do any good in danger to run to His baptism, that we might not pass from this life without it; nor to reconciliation, if by penitence or a bad conscience any one may be severed from His body. For why are these things practised, if not because the faithful, even though dead, are His members? Therefore, while these thousand years run on, their souls reign with Him, though not as yet in conjunction with their bodies. And therefore in another part of this same book we read, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth and now, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works do follow them. Revelation 14:13 The Church, then, begins its reign with Christ now in the living and in the dead. For, as the apostle says, Christ died that He might be Lord both of the living and of the dead. Romans 14:9 But he mentioned the souls of the martyrs only, because they who have contended even to death for the truth, themselves principally reign after death; but, taking the part for the whole, we understand the words of all others who belong to the Church, which is the kingdom of Christ.
As to the words following, And if any have not worshipped the beast nor his image, nor have received his inscription on their forehead, or on their hand, we must take them of both the living and the dead. And what this beast is, though it requires a more careful investigation, yet it is not inconsistent with the true faith to understand it of the ungodly city itself, and the community of unbelievers set in opposition to the faithful people and the city of God. His image seems to me to mean his simulation, to wit, in those men who profess to believe, but live as unbelievers. For they pretend to be what they are not, and are called Christians, not from a true likeness but from a deceitful image. For to this beast belong not only the avowed enemies of the name of Christ and His most glorious city, but also the tares which are to be gathered out of His kingdom, the Church, in the end of the world. And who are they who do not worship the beast and his image, if not those who do what the apostle says, Be not yoked with unbelievers? 2 Corinthians 6:14 For such do not worship, i.e., do not consent, are not subjected; neither do they receive the inscription, the brand of crime, on their forehead by their profession, on their hand by their practice. They, then, who are free from these pollutions, whether they still live in this mortal flesh, or are dead, reign with Christ even now, through this whole interval which is indicated by the thousand years, in a fashion suited to this time.
The rest of them, he says, did not live. For now is the hour when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live; and the rest of them shall not live. The words added, until the thousand years are finished, mean that they did not live in the time in which they ought to have lived by passing from death to life. And therefore, when the day of the bodily resurrection arrives, they shall come out of their graves, not to life, but to judgment, namely, to damnation, which is called the second death. For whosoever has not lived until the thousand years be finished, i.e., during this whole time in which the first resurrection is going on—whosoever has not heard the voice of the Son of God, and passed from death to life—that man shall certainly in the second resurrection, the resurrection of the flesh, pass with his flesh into the second death. For he goes to say This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection, or who experiences it. Now he experiences it who not only revives from the death of sin, but continues in this renewed life. In these the second death has no power. Therefore it has power in the rest, of whom he said above, The rest of them did not live until the thousand years were finished; for in this whole intervening time called a thousand years, however lustily they lived in the body, they were not quickened to life out of that death in which their wickedness held them, so that by this revived life they should become partakers of the first resurrection, and so the second death should have no power over them.

18 comments:

ttomosky said...

Emmett,

Because of the many comments on your last post re: the Millenium and various interpretations and prophecies, and with you presenting St. Augustine's words now, I have a confession and a question.

The confession is that I am quite confused about all of this. The question, which may be a bit unfair, is: Can you outline 1 or more scenarios of upcoming events that are consistent with your understanding of future events? Note that I am NOT asking you to predict exactly what will happen, but to give a couple of possible scenarios of what may happen that are in line with your beliefs. I think that I and others would benefit from this.

Thank you very much!

Emmett O'Regan said...

Hi Tom,

I'm in the middle of constructing an updated post on the prophecy of Pope Leo XIII which should help tie all of this together. In a nutshell, I believe that the "millennium" or age of the Church, ended at the beginning of the 20th century, when Satan was once again unbound - giving rise to wars foretold by Jesus in his eschatological discourse in Matt 24 and the age of the Great Apostasy.
But we are also told in Rev 12-13 that at the end of his period of greater power, Satan would be cast to earth, where he would rise in the person of the Beast from the sea/Antichrist. Once his period of greater power/"little while" is finished and Satan is cast to earth, the Church will be restored to its former glory before the coming of the Antichrist, when the final Passover of the Church foreseen in the Third Secret of Fatima will finally take place. The Antichrist will attempt to make himself a god here on earth, using the "false wonders" of modern technology - perhaps even promising his followers artificial eternal life in the creation of new technologies - a la the Transhumanist movement. But his appearance will be brought to nothing by the Second Coming of Christ, who will destroy the realm of Satan with the sword of his mouth, bringing about the end of the world. After this, the Church will follow the Lord in His glorious Resurrection, in the creation of the new heaven and new earth after the dead are restored to life.

ttomosky said...

Emmett,

Wow! That helps a lot! Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Pope Francis is expected to visit Jerusalem in 2014 to commemorate the visit of Paul IV in 1964.

Anonymous said...

This sentence is totally confusing to me:

But we are also told in Rev 12-13 that at the end of his period of greater power, Satan would be cast to earth, where he would rise in the person of the Beast from the sea/Antichrist. Once his period of greater power/"little while" is finished and Satan is cast to earth
the Church will be restored to Glory...etc.

The First mention of Satan is Cast to Earth.
Does that mean Satan is Cast from Heaven to Earth? Didn't He already have great power on Earth after he was unbound? Isn't Satan already here? Until his great power is finshed? Then you again say after his great power is finished he is "cast to earth". Is he "cast to earth again?" How can that be if he's already here?

I'm sorry..I'm not trying to be snarky. I just cannot follow the sequence of events in that paragraph. Would you please explain that again to my pea brain?

Emmett O'Regan said...

Hi Anon,

It seems that this is the most difficult concept to grasp for most people - so you're certainly not alone...

Satan has always had great power here on earth, and will do so until the end of the world and the creation of the new heaven and earth. His power was bound during the ministry of Christ, where he suffered his ultimate defeat. This defeat or "binding" allowed the Gospel to be spread throughout the world. This didn't mean that his power was taken away - he will always have this power until he is finally cast into the lake of fire.
Even though Satan fell from grace at some point in primordial history, he was still able to stand before the throne of God in heaven, in order to accuse humanity, and to come and go between heaven and earth to exercise his power (see the Book of Job). Rev 20 tells us that after the age of the Church/"millennium" had ended, Satan would once again be unbound, and he would have back the ability to prevent the spread of the Gospel during the age of the Great Apostasy - a period of greater power.
Rev 12 tells us that towards the end of the world, he would not be tolerated to stand before the throne of God to accuse humanity any more, and would be cast from heaven to the earth - when his head would be crushed by the Woman. This greater power would be taken away from him, and the Gospel could once again be spread during the Second Pentecost. But he still retains the same power he had during his period of binding (i.e. for all of Christian history up until the start of the 20th century) - he will always have this. And he always has been here, flitting between heaven and earth. But after he is cast to earth, he is forced to stay here until the Last Judgement, and Rev 13 tells us that it is at this point that he transfers his great power and authority to the Beast/Antichrist.

Let me know if this clears things up for you...

Tom said...

Hi Emmett and Everyone,

How interesting to read St. Augustine. Never did that before!

Re: "And therefore, when the day of the bodily resurrection arrives, they shall come out of their graves, not to life, but to judgment, namely, to damnation, which is called the second death. For whosoever has not lived until the thousand years be finished, i.e., during this whole time in which the first resurrection is going on—whosoever has not heard the voice of the Son of God, and passed from death to life—that man shall certainly in the second resurrection, the resurrection of the flesh, pass with his flesh into the second death."

Is he saying that there will be a resurrection of the bodies of the souls who have been damned, so that their bodies will be united to their souls in Hell? Doesn't really sound right to me.

I finished the book! Congratulations on the fine research and scholarship. I must say I had some surprises coming. I'm not sure I'm buying all of it, but my mind is open, and I'm watchfully waiting. I don't think I can agree that America is the whore of Babylon. I know George Washington was a Mason, but I believe he was faithful Christian, and accomplished a lot of good things. There is a legend that he had a heavenly visitor http://www.spiritdaily.net/georgewashington.htm. The idea behind the separation of church and state was that the government could not interfere with the church, not the other way round. Finally, I would never use Noam Chomsky as a resource on how bad America is. Chomsky is liberal, atheist, pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia. His hatred for America surfaces when conservatives are elected to public office. America has some serious problems, but I like to believe that her citizens want to be a force for good in the world.

Otherwise I loved the book, and the blog. I'll be coming around often.

Thanks,

Tom

Anonymous said...

Thanks Emmett for your explanation. It clears up most of my confusion. But can you clarify where in the book of Revelation does it explicilty say that the devil will be cast out of heaven to earth and his head will be crushed by by the Woman. I know that it is written in the book of Genesis but where in Revelation? Or is that implied by the fact that the dragon is prevented from doing harm to the Woman? It's truly a grace to be able to decipher all of this and make it understandable. Thank you for doing that!

Emmett O'Regan said...

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the kind words and the input - much appreciated!
I hope I don't come across as being anti-American in the book - because I'm most definitely not. I love America and the American people. You still have a level of faith that we here in Europe can only aspire to. And in fact I believe that the governments of secular Europe is far more deserving of any chastisements.
I identify America with Babylon chiefly because it is the world's dominant world power, and also because it is a Christian nation. For the Christians in the 1st century, "Babylon" represented the dominant world power - which was Rome. To reapply this today, "Babylon"
would also have to represent the ruling world power. While situations can always change, it is only America that meets this criteria at present. Also the end-time "Babylon" would also have to be a Christian nation, because it is called a "harlot". In the Old Testament Israel was called a harlot for committing apostasy, because it had a marriage covenant with God. America, once a deeply Christian country, is now succumbing to secular atheism, and abortion is rampant. God punishes those closest to him the most, because they bear a greater responsibility:

"Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent."
(Rev 3:19)

You're quite right, America's citizens are its primary asset, and the USA itself is generally a force for good in this world in the present. In fact, I think it is only the world dominance of the USA that is holding back the arrival of the Antichrist. I don't think Americans would suffer the Antichrist on their soil. But a government which forsakes its Christian heritage is open to chastisement. And if America loses its superpower status due to a huge natural catastrophe, I fear that the Antichrist will be there to take its place as the dominant world power.

Emmett O'Regan said...

"And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him."
(Rev 12:9)

You're right about Gen 3. But also
notice that the Dragon is at the Woman's feet in Rev 12. As is the Moon, which being associated with the night, also represents the Dragon. In the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Virgin Mary having the Moon under her feet represents her crushing the head of the Devil. After this, Satan is thrown down to the earth by the Archangel Michael. But when the Beast from the sea rises in same form as the Dragon (with seven heads) once Satan has been cast to earth, one of its heads bears a mortal wound. This is because the Dragon's head was crushed by the Woman Adorned with the Sun. Although the wound appears to be healed in a parody of the Resurrection, it is actually a mortal blow, and will lead to his ultimate destruction.

Jamey said...

Emmett I think part of the US being the whore of Babylon is because it has spurned special God given gifts, graces and powers. Similar to those early Church communities in the New Testament after having much zeal they have grown lukewarm in general and as such evil has proliferated. The US has been pretty much the cultural trend setter for most of the western world. The Chinese communist government of all groups condemned the vile pornography that has inundated their people from the US. There are many committed US Christians but as a whole they have turned away from God as most powerfully epitomised by the new Herod's re-election and judgement falls on the whole.

"And if America loses its superpower status due to a huge natural catastrophe, I fear that the Antichrist will be there to take its place as the dominant world power."

With private prophecy Howard Storm was shown a vision in his nde that America was to lose its position and "the rest of the world watched on" with a sense that justice occurred as that nation had turned corrupt (I believe by too many being quiet or lukewarm as previously mentioned). Ned Dougherty also saw the US losing its power after being flooded particularly its military bases. Storm's prophecy is the most powerful "non Catholic" I have come across as he seems genuinely transformed and is very measured in what he says. In a way he is very close to the Catholic Church - he attributed a nun praying the rosary for him as what saved him, he helps build Catholic churches in Belize, believes in purgatory and Thomas Merton is his favorite spiritual writer. In fact Storm initially studied the Bible at a Catholic Church after his nde but probably was repulsed by what was going on in those parishes.

Saying all that a caveat is necessary - there were a couple of concerning elements in his nde particularly when he asked Jesus and the angels which is the correct church - their response "The one that brings you closest to God". Maybe the answer lies in interpreting that there is one church that will bring us closest to God and not many - but it will be revealed to him in due time. This once again highlights the issues with private prophecy and as Stephen Walford mentioned we interpret them in light of the eternal Magisterium and not the other way around.

Anonymous said...

Emmett,
Thank you for the good posts and informative commentaries.
In response to you comment to Tom with the moon under her feet;Isn't Our Lady also referred to as the moon too? I get your explanation when looking at the image of OLG.
On the tilma, is it the moon or/and the angel that is not part of the miraculous image? I'm pretty sure the sash around her waist was painted on by the Italian artist commissioned to replicate it. The rays around Our Lady were also painted over the original rays . If one looks closely at any reproduction one can see paint has flaked off and the original rays are brighter than the paint. I remember something to the effect that JPII was asked if the image should be restored to the original. He said something to the effect to leave it as it is because this is pretty much how the world knows Our Lady of Guadalupe.
I'm pretty sure I read that the duplicate that was on Don Juan's flagship in the Battle of Lepanto was more exact to the original image.
To those readers who do not know why the rays around her head appear chopped of, is due to the frame. The frame the Spanish king sent was too short and too wide. Instead of sending the frame back , the image was stretched to fit the frame. This is why we also see the thread running down the middle of Our Lady. I've been told by the Mexicans in Mexico City that she is held together by that one thread. She was also painted for they feared back in the 1500's the rays would fade and disappear. Forgive the rambling on and stating what you probably already know.
As she said to Juan Diego, " Am I not here, who is your mother". The apparition site in Mexico exudes motherly love.
Thanks again for sharing you work , Emmett.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous @ 7:27
Do you have any references to back up the claim that there is any painting done on the tilma?
I've never heard anything like this.

Unknown said...

Jamey,

It's funny that you mention Howard Storm, as I have been trying to reconcile (with difficulty) his vision of the future with the future proposed on this blog, especially as it's been expressed here in the last couple of weeks. After reading all the com logs, Augustine's amillenial view seems to me to be the most consistent with Scripture, Tradition, and approved private revelation. However, Storm's vision seems to be more consistent with a coming era of peace, and a rather fantastic one at that. In his vision of 200 years in the future, people live in tight-knit communities, have little to no technology, are telepathic, can communicate with life on other planets, can grow food simply by thinking/praying, and are at peace. I have read about other such claims of this type of future from other sources as well, but they are, for the most part, non-Christian. It would also seem to corroborate with Medjugorje, as I recall that the visionary Mirjana stated that the 10 secrets were about transformation, not about the end.

Is this kind of future compatible with the amillenial view? I struggle to see how, as this future definitely sounds like an extended period of peace following an extensive transformation.

Alan

Sr. Marianne Lorraine Trouve said...

Emmett, I don't think your book sounds anti-American at all.
As an American myself, I am very concerned about the future of this country.
There are still many good people, but there are so many bad things going on too.
The left wing has pretty much taken over the universities, even the Catholic ones.
We have many extremely liberal politicians who are running things, and of course the problem with the judges who vote in favor of abortion, homosexual unions, etc.
But Mary Immaculate is patroness of our country and I believe she will help us turn things around.

Emmett O'Regan said...

I really hope and pray so Sr. Lorraine! I think all chastisements can be mitigated, or averted altogether, dependant on the response of those involved. If America was to repent like Ninevah, and reverse its current anti-Christian values, then I believe it would be spared. Prophecy isn't meant to be fatalistic, but rather elicit a positive response. I worry that the government won't listen to the people though, and the country will be reduced to wearing pauper's rags.

Jamey said...

Alan Paal said:

"It's funny that you mention Howard Storm, as I have been trying to reconcile (with difficulty) his vision of the future with the future proposed on this blog, especially as it's been expressed here in the last couple of weeks."

Alan, likewise have difficulty reconciling aspects of Storm's nde with Catholicism and Catholic prophecy which has given me a headache or two given it was a major reason for my reversion. For example he asked the angels if we were going to destroy ourselves via a nuclear war and was told God won't let it happen as he loves humanity too much - there are obvious issues with that. Part is that God permits calamities and often. Also Akita and other major apparitions which have the benefit of Church approval and usually miraculous circumstances surrounding indicate the greatest chastisement ever is looming.

As I see it there are three options:
1. He is lying about what he experienced - I strongly disbelieve this.
2. He was really seeing the devil instead of Jesus - I find this hard to believe for a number of reasons that are too lengthy to go through here but is more likely than option 1.
3. He like other seers had his own preconceptions and biases muddy the waters - For me, probably the case.

His visions of the future are fascinating and perhaps are of the New Earth after the Last Judgement. To discern and interpret these prophecies from the Tradition and Magisterium of the Church will spare us of confusion and pain.

Anonymous said...

the main problem is that the false interpretation and enhanced interest in prophecies leads people not only form Jesus Christ and Scripture, but straightforward to heresy or, to heterodoxy, at best.
People are so fascinated with all those prophecies of the warnings/chastasements/miracles they tend to forget the basic Catholic Catechism and Catholic doctrine.
To the point that when the straightforward Catholic picture of the End of Times as is depicted in Stephen’s book is presented to them, the outcry is that it is not a mainstream point of view(sic!!!!) and the mainstream is a modified millenniaristic view of Fr.Ianuzzi and Mark Mallet. When the latter ones are being shown to use lies to prove their point, it is not them to be blamed for the lies ( and that should raise a red flag in any Catholic head – if somebody needs to lie to defend their viewpoint – stay away from that view) but the messenger, who is showing the lies is being accused of uncharitability.

Matthew 7:20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

one of the lies in the modified millennialistic view is actually twist the views of St.Augustine - it is a talking point of the postmillennial crowd aka worshippers of era of peace to claim that St.Augustine held 3 different postions on the millennium, whereas opmitting the fact that he never did it simultaneously and condemned his mistaken views at the end.