The foundation for stating that a sure sign of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is a universal apostasy can be found in St. Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians: "We beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together unto him, not to be hastily shaken from your right mind, nor terrified, whether by spirit, or by utterance, or by letter attributed to us, as though the day of the Lord were near at hand. Let no one deceive you in any way, for the day of the Lord will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and is exalted above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sits in the temple of God and gives himself out as if he were God" (II Thess. 2, 1-4).
St. Paul is warning the Catholics of Thessalonia not to panic concerning the rumors being circulated as if the Second Coming were imminent.
As usual, there were three sources of such rumor: alleged visions, gossip and forgery of letters purported to be from St. Paul.
We face similar panic today: False apparitions all over the world attributed to the Spirit; leaflets circulated by individuals who have been "hastily shaken from their right mind" - as St. Paul would say; and finally, attributing conclusions that are untenable to Sr. Lucy of Fatima fame, or as the French priest, Rev. Georges de Nantes, who suddenly discovered something in St. Don Bosco, and appears to be thrusting himself forward as a prophet of some sort.
There is a baffling incongruity among all those 'prophets' who prophesy things which our Lord Himself said are known only by the Father. They all appear to be unaware of their self-contradictions. They support the apostate Church because they do not have the courage to break with the buildings which their parents financed. Sometimes they themselves have "invested" so much, that they do not have sufficient grace to overcome the natural attachment to these things.
All this is understandable from a human point of view. But, we are not called by virtue of our baptism to live on a natural plane.
We are called to live on a supernatural plane which affirms that the wisdom of the world (natural reason alone) is foolishness in the eyes of God; and the wisdom of God is foolishness in the eyes of the world. The true Christian lives according to reason elevated and enlightened by grace to the supernatural plane. Consequently, the Christian appears to the 'world' (That is, those who follow the maxims and slogans of those living according to reason tainted with error) to be 'foolish.'
Apostasy from the faith, or, 'falling away from the faith' is the denial of doctrine as taught by the unbroken line of the Magisterium, i.e, official teaching authority of the Church.
This is done in any of three ways singly or all together. That is, by thought, word, or deed.
As far as God is concerned, a Catholic who denies a teaching of the Roman Catholic Church in thought only, while speaking and acting as if he were a Catholic is already excommunicated from the Church. Such a person ceases to receive any supernatural graces, and all religious acts done by such a person are sacrilegious actions. Having denied the faith, as Pope Pius XII stated, such a one is no longer a member of the Mystical Body nor can such a one be said to be living the life of that Spirit which animates the Body.
Persons are guilty of apostasy by their words and actions when they express by these words and actions the practical denial of the teachings of the Church.
Such heretics loudly proclaim that they are 'loyal' members of the Church - as Pope St. Pius X stated in his encyclical letter on Modernism. They claim 'conscience' as their grounds for dissenting with the teachings and discipline of the Church, ignoring the fact that the Church's practices are a reflection of what She believes.
These Modernist heretics claim a 'need to adapt to the times' as the justification for their ridiculing of sound doctrine. They must be doing this knowingly and deliberately since they are intelligent people for the most part. Apparently, their intelligence is not enough to protect them from the simple truth that the 'times' reflect the influence of evil rather than of good.
When governments promote the murder of their unborn citizens under the pretext of 'freedom' for the murderers and their maternal accomplices, what sane individual can deny that this is a 'spirit of the times' which all men of decency must condemn, rather than condone.
With the 'Eve-syndrome" running amuck like a plague to the point where even the word of God as contained in the Sacred Scriptures is not immune from the violence of these innovators, it is time to think seriously upon the present situation. We are warned by our Lord that 'Heaven and earth shall pass away' but His word 'shall not pass away.'
All thought, all word and all deeds influenced by the grace of God and founded on divine revelation are systematically expunged from society and replaced with the jargon of the antichrists.
There is no need to place specific labels on the antichrists. Their very words and deeds expose them no matter how hard they try to disguise themselves behind find-sounding pretense.
Whoever is not with Christ totally, is against Him. Whoever is not with the Church totally, is against the Church.
We are presently in a state of affairs where the true Catholics are labeled 'heretics' or 'schismatics' and the heretics and schismatics delude themselves into thinking they are genuinely 'Catholic.' This situation is reminiscent of the situation when the Pharisees accused Jesus of having a devil, and Jesus replied that they were the ones possessed by devils. We read this portion of the Gospel on Passion Sunday each year.
In answer to all those misguided 'charismatics' who consort with evil spirits and delude themselves into thinking it is the 'Holy Ghost' working in them, the words of St. Paul ought to make us think more seriously. Writing to the young Bishop, Timothy, he says: "Dearly beloved, I charge thee before God and Jesus Christ, Who shall judge the living and the dead, by His coming, and His kingdom. Preach the word: be instant in season, out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience, and doctrine. For there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine: but according to their own desires they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables" (2 Tim.4, 1-4).
Whose duty is it to preach the word, if not the Bishop's and to those whom he alone delegates his divine authority to represent him? Who is exhorted to be 'instant in season, and out of season', if not the Bishop? Whose duty is it to 'reprove, entreat, and rebuke'? Is it not the Bishop's?
Who will no longer 'endure sound doctrine'? Who 'will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth' if not those who embrace the demonic errors of Modernism? Whom does St. Paul exhort to be 'vigilant, to labor in all things and to do the work of the evangelist'? Is it some misguided layman or priest? No. This duty is the Bishop's duty and all these others have the obligation to hear him because to him alone as a successor of the Apostles has this ministry been given.
If we were to seek some way of judging sides in this spiritual combat, it would seem to be in keeping with all that the Scriptures tell us of the Second Coming that the minority is on the right side and the majority is wrong. In fact, it is the majority that is being led away by the antichrists.
What many Catholics fail to understand is that the Antichrist is quite content to acknowledge Jesus Christ as nothing more than a kind of 'precursor' for him. Just as the Muslims are often said to recognize in Jesus a 'great prophet' - nothing more, so we can see in them their most fundamental error: they reject Jesus Christ as the Son of God made Man for the redemption and salvation of the world. The Talmudists can be brought to accept the same thing concerning Jesus Christ Whom they crucified after apostatizing from the true faith. Once Jesus is reduced to just another 'good fellow,' the way for unity is open to all because the fundamental principle has been established: Lucifer is the king of all and he now rules!
This being the case, what has actually happened? What has been achieved through all this 'ecumenism' of Karol Wojtyla and all his doting disciples?
As the Antichrist hides beneath human values and forms, especially those that no one can object to: he has an excellent opportunity to draw men's attention away from all supernatural reality.
The Antichrist cannot tolerate the supernatural realities present in life on earth. Therefore, he cannot tolerate the existence of the Roman Catholic Church!
These supernatural realities are so intolerable to those who have the spirit of antichrist that they must do everything in their power to separate man in his present condition from the supernatural; they must try to obviate the supernatural; they must silence it or even openly deny it.
Every antichrist spirit is essentially a beast of the earth: it arises from the earth and remains on the earth. Despite this, it is far from being materialistic.
We often hear complaints about people being 'too materialistic' - as if human pre-occupation is the real source of their problems. This is only a false front. Mankind has been able to outgrow the childish materialism of its youth. The Antichrist is a spiritualist: he knows what he must believe: in good, in God and in the Messiah.
At first, we are surprised at these characteristics of the Antichrist. We are so accustomed to identify materialism as the most outstanding characteristic of the Antichrist and his activity. We have even become accustomed to label atheistic Communism as crass materialism. We do this because in a naïve way we confuse matter as being the greatest opposing force against God. That matter does become a great obstacle to union with God is true; nevertheless, even the most powerful controller of material wealth knows that all this is nothing if it cannot buy him spiritual power.
Actually, there is no such thing as 'atheistic Communism' because there are neither atheists nor are there communists. Those who call themselves 'atheists' are poor liars; and those who call themselves 'communists' are worse thieves and murderers. 'Communism' never really existed except as a catchy label disguising the most despotic tyranny under the veil of the most humanitarian goal: "To each according to his need; from each according to his ability." What could be more just-sounding? The problem lies in the fact that this is all there is to the cabal: empty-words. The word 'Communism' is now outdated because it has served its purpose. The new word is "Democracy." Everything is now "democratic"! It's like, if you are not "democratic" then you must be "anti-Semitic" or a "Neo-Nazi" - or whatever invented slur-word happens to be effective to frighten people into becoming "democratic". "Democratic" meaning, of course, supporting the real goals of 'Communism.'
As far from the purpose of this article as these concepts may seem, they are essentially bound up with the great apostasy and the Antichrist
How so?
Communism or democracy are the tools wherewith the Antichrist fashions the shackles to enslave the masses. For this reason the Holy Scriptures warn us that without the sign of the beast no one will be able to buy or sell. Think about it: If you can't buy anything, how will you survive? And, if you cannot sell anything, how will you exchange one thing for another? The entire human economic structure and activity may be reduced to 'buying and selling.' It makes little difference what we buy or sell; it is always a transaction of exchanging some thing for something else. We sell our physical energy in exchange for something we need. That is why having a job is important. If we cannot sell our services to someone, we soon find ourselves without the means to buy what we need, whether it be food, clothing or shelter.
Many will think this is far-fetched; something that will perhaps happen in the 'apocalyptic age' - anything or anytime except now! Now that's a really 'realistic' attitude! The only flaw in it is that we are in the apocalyptic age and we must act!
There are those who speak of the 'demise of Communism,' but this is merely a ploy indicating that the secret agenda of the international Luciferians has reached unexpected success.
Can anyone seriously think that faith in God and, generally speaking, that all supernatural values and truths have resurrected? As we continue, it will become more and more evident that the contrary is true: natural values based on error have replaced supernatural values based on truth.
No one who has out-grown the childish philosophy of materialism has been able to deny the existence of God and divine truths. But, everyone is able to refuse recognizing God and divine truths.
It is a completely different matter, then, to admit the existence of God and divine truths and quite another to make this knowledge the foundation of a harmonious whole influencing one's life. The Antichrist knows that God exists; but by an act of the will refuses to accept the consequences of this knowledge.
The Antichrist is not a materialist because the Antichrist is from the spirit world. Being a spirit himself, he knows his own existence and, therefore, would be the first to laugh at those who fancy themselves "materialists".
Nonetheless, it can readily be seen that a spiritualist world-view does not yet lead to God. It merely unfolds the reality of God's existence; it does not unite man to this simply existing God. In other words, this knowledge of God's existence does not create religion, and does not awaken a recognition of God especially in His works.
The spiritualist is not an atheist just as the devil is not an atheist. In fact, a spiritualist can be a very deeply convinced theist, who places God far beyond his own reality and confines Him to an unapproachable sphere.
The spiritualist can be a deist not only in his metaphysical outlook, but also in his being and activity. He can transform his theoretical deism into a practical deism and work to destroy everything in the world that would reveal God as being near.
A war against God and a deist outlook are completely compatible.
You might ask: "How is this possible?"
I would refer you again to the words of St. Paul and his description of the Antichrist as one "...who opposes and is exalted above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sits in the temple of God and gives himself out as if he were God."(II Thess.2,4-5).
We see that the Antichrist must oppose God so that he (the Antichrist) may take God's place as the object of worship. This is extremely important to keep in mind because it clearly shows us that neither materialism nor atheism have anything to do with the work of the Antichrist and his followers. It is by recognizing the fact that we ought not look for opposition from materialists or atheists to be enemies of Christianity, that we might more reasonably recognize the enemy as representative of spiritualism and that it is this particular brand of spiritualism that wages a bitter war against Christ and His followers.
Tricked into expecting an attack, so to speak, from "materialists and atheists", the followers of Jesus Christ are divided in their strength to resist the Antichrist and his followers who come in the trappings of spiritualism.
The reality is far different from what Christians conceptualize. It is this clever strategy of disguising the enemy as a "materialist" or "atheist" that the true enemies of Christianity have been able to infiltrate the Church - that society of true believers which is visible to the entire world as the Roman Catholic Church - and to gnaw away at the very life-source of this Mystical Body. And all the while, the followers of Jesus Christ are misled into thinking that they are still 'Christian'!
No. It is not as most Catholics suppose. The real and bitter war against Christ does not grow out of materialism, which is nothing more than childish fancy, but from spiritualism, which is an already mature, deliberate determination and decision. It is for this reason that such an ideology is able to declare and initiate a war against God.
The materialist is unable to war intensely against God. The reason is easy to understand: No one can fight against something that does not exist. And, by definition, God does not exist for the materialist. For the materialist, God is not a reality; 'God' is just the creation of human imagination. The materialists war is not against 'God' but against people's psychology.
It is true, that the materialist's war can be at times very cruel and brutal, but it has no realistic foundation. Essentially, it is nothing more than a 'propaganda war.'
On the other hand, however, the spiritualist knows that God exists. For the spiritualist, God is not just an imaginary being instilled in the minds of the masses through custom, but a reality standing above him.
This is the reason why the war with this reality takes on a different form in the activity of the spiritualist.
It is a real war. It is a tragic event. It leads to destruction even though there is no bloodshed.
The spiritualist antichrist is a far greater enemy of Christ than a materialist antichrist. This is why antichrist wars most often have a spiritualistic subterfuge.
Materialists are merely weapons bearers in the Beast's community. The first line soldiers are always convinced spiritualists who believe in good, God and a Messiah. It is this belief that gives them the strength to fight; it is this belief that maintains them in their work of denial, in their constant sacrifice and amazing bravery. This is the source of the antichrists' staying power and determination. Also, this is the reason we Christians are warned not to give in to false teachings of the spiritualists on the one hand, and not to look for any sign of hope from the oppression of the materialists. True Christianity (That is, the Roman Catholic Church) can expect significantly greater blows from spiritualists, than they have thus far experienced from materialists.
The Antichrist is a spiritualist, not a materialist. At this point we begin to approach the peculiar 'ecumenism' inaugurated by John XXIII. Since the inauguration of the so-called 'ecumenical movement' the number of converts to the true Faith has significantly decreased, and the number of Catholics leaving the Church has significantly increased. This only reflects the statistics for those who formally leave the Church and become registered members of heretical sects.
Since John XXIII, the only 'heretics' are the Roman Catholics who refuse to abandon their supernatural Faith for the natural religion of the Antichrist.
It is a 'peculiar' ecumenism because until that moment, there had never been such a thing, nor could there be such a thing under the guidance of a true and legitimate Vicar of Jesus Christ. In fact, such ambitious ventures were condemned by true and legitimate Vicars of Jesus Christ, such as Pope Pius XI in his Encyclical Letter Mortalium animos on the promotion of true religious unity (6 January 1928). Judging from the date, it shows that the effectiveness of Pope Pius X's Encyclical Letter against Modernism was short-lived.
Pope St. Pius X condemned Modernism as the 'confluence of all heresies' in "On the Errors of the Modernists" 8 September 1907.
The several Encyclical Letters of Pope Pius XII warned the Catholic world against the subtle attacks against the Faith from within Her own bosom and taught infallible doctrine in such promulgated pronouncements as contained in Mystici Corporis, wherein this legitimate successor of St. Peter, expounds the identity existing between the Roman Catholic Church and the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ. (29 June 1943). This same Pope was forced to return to the defense of Catholic doctrine when he issued the Encyclical Letter condemning the false opinions of the Modernists, "Humani Generis":
"Some say they are not bound by the doctrine, explained in Our Encyclical Letter of a few years ago, and based on the sources of revelation, which teaches that the Mystical Body of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church are one and the same thing." (Humani Generis, 12 August 1950).
While the Chair of Peter was occupied by a true and legitimate successor of St. Peter - as we see in the Popes already mentioned, namely, Popes Pius X, Pius XI and Pius XII - the universality of the apostasy beginning to take root in various places had not reached such proportions that it could yet be called 'great' or 'universal.' At least it seemed contained after Pope Pius X's condemnation of Modernism. But it was not contained, it simply went underground. It would not be contained because it was the work of Antichrist.
Note well the words of St. Paul on this subject: He warns the Thessalonians (and Catholics of all time and all places) that the Antichrist will not destroy the temple, but that he "sits in the temple of God and gives himself out as if he were God." Of immediate importance are the words that follow: "Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I used to tell you these things? And now you know what restrains him, that he may be revealed in his proper time. For the mystery of iniquity is already at work; provided only that he who is at present restraining it, does still restrain, until he is gotten out of the way. (II Thess. 2, 4-7).
Actually, who is it that 'restrains' the mystery of iniquity in the Mystical Body of Christ? Is it not a true and legitimate Pope?
A true and legitimate POPE is 'he who is at present restraining' false doctrine and error by his infallible authority! The mystery of iniquity is kept within bounds, so to speak, so long as the 'restrainer' is present.
St. Paul points out that there is someone who restrains and this work of restraining will cease when the 'restrainer' 'is gotten out of the way.'
And, who is it that must be gotten out of the way? Who is the visible representative of Jesus Christ to the point of being identified with Christ Himself? It is the legitimate successor of St. Peter. In other words: a legitimate Pope! He who does not obey Peter, does not obey Jesus Christ. This is the foundation of obedience in the Roman Catholic Church.
Only a legitimate Pope has the right and duty of addressing the universal Church as legitimate Shepherd. This is why Encyclical Letters are not addressed to individual faithful, but to "Our Venerable Brethren: Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops and other local Ordinaries in peace and communion with the Apostolic See."
A legitimate Pope addresses all these members of the hierarchy because it is their duty to communicate the Pope's words to the rest of the faithful: priests, Religious and laity.
It is 'Peter' who is to confirm his brethren in the faith. And, because it is the legitimate successor of Peter who holds in his hands the full and supreme legislative, juridical and punitive power, it is Peter in his legitimate successors who is the restrainer of heresies and schisms, which are the only way that the Antichrist can gain a foot-hold to destroy the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ - the Roman Catholic Church. Weak Catholics are not a threat to the Church; but apostate Catholics are! The difference is an essential one.
For the sake of impressing upon the reader the importance of this essential difference, let us read the words of the last restrainer in the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Pius XII:
"Actually only those are to be included as members of the Church who have been baptized and profess the true faith, and who have not been so unfortunate as to separate themselves from the unity of the Body, or been excluded by legitimate authority for grave faults committed. 'For in one spirit' says the Apostle, 'were we baptized into one Body, whether Judeans or Gentiles, whether bond or free.'
As therefore in the true Christian community there is only one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one Baptism, so there can be only one faith. And therefore if a man refuse to hear the Church, let him be considered - so the Lord commands - as a heathen and a publican.
It follows that those who are divided in faith or government cannot be living in the unity of such a Body, nor can they be living the life of its one Divine Spirit." (Mystici Corporis, 29 June, 1943).
Who are excluded from the Roman Catholic Church? The answer is as clear as it is authoritative: heretics, schismatics and those who have been excommunicated.
Are sinners also excluded? Pope Pius XII speaking in the name of the Lord states:
"Nor must one imagine that the Body of the Church, just because it bears the name of Christ, is made up during the days of its earthly pilgrimage only of members conspicuous for their holiness, or that it consists only of those whom God has predestined to eternal happiness.
It is owing to the Savior's infinite mercy that place is allowed in His Mystical Body here below for those whom, of old, He did not exclude from the banquet. For not every sin, however grave it may be, is such as of its own nature to sever a man from the Body of the Church, as does schism or heresy or apostasy.
Men may lose charity and divine grace through sin, thus becoming incapable of supernatural merit, and yet not be deprived of all life if they hold fast to faith and Christian hope, and if, illumined from above, they are spurred on by the interior promptings of the Holy Spirit to salutary fear and are moved to prayer and penance for their sins.
Let everyone then abhor sin, which defiles the mystical members of our Redeemer; but if anyone unhappily falls and his obstinacy has not made him unworthy of communion with the faithful, let him be received with great love, and let eager charity see in him a weak member of Jesus Christ. For, as the Bishop of Hippo remarks, it is better 'to be cured within the Church's community than to be cut off from its body as incurable members.' 'As long as a member still forms part of the body there is no reason to despair of its cure; once it has been cut off, it can be neither cured nor healed.'"