Prophecy Expectation And Antichrist

 

To My Readers: My guest poster, Mr. Dominic Caggeso has some incredible insights this week on prophesy and the Antichrist. I'm sure you will find it of great interest. Feel free to comment as usual, and Dominic will reply. If you have a specific question or comment for me, I will respond as always, but it will take me a bit longer to reply this week.

God bless you all, my dear readers---Introibo

 Prophecy Expectation And Antichrist

By Dominic Caggeso

It is written in the Old Testament:

“Behold I will send you Elias the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” - Malachias 4:5

Apparently, the scribes at the time of Christ interpreted this to mean that the prophet Elias would literally come before the arrival of the Messias. We can glean this because just after the Transfiguration, the Apostles questioned Our Lord about Elias’ coming.

“And his disciples asked him, saying: Why then do the scribes say that Elias must come first? But he answering, said to them: Elias indeed shall come, and restore all things. But I say to you, that Elias is already come, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they had a mind. So also the Son of man shall suffer from them. Then the disciples understood, that he had spoken to them of John the Baptist.”

- Matthew 17:10-13

As we well know, Elias did not literally come before Our Lord. Instead, it was St. John the Baptist who spoke and acted in the prophet’s place, or perhaps we can say, in the spirit and power of Elias. St. John and Elias were both uncompromising, clear, and strong in their message. Both lived in the wilderness and wore rugged clothes. Elias was brought meager rations in the wilderness by a raven and St. John ate wild food in the desert. They both stood up to the corrupt, evil king and in both instances, it was the vengeful wife of the king that sought their lives.

Thus, the prophecy about Elias was fulfilled by the coming of St. John the Baptist in a way that the Jews had not expected. Most likely, the Jews were anticipating Elias to come and restore the literal Kingdom of Israel as it was in the time of King David. The majority of the Jews wanted an earthly-minded Messias, and consequently did not recognize Him as He preached and performed miracles before their eyes. 

It seems to me that prophecy is written in such a way as to be interpreted through one’s pre-existing worldview. If one is materially minded, then fulfillment is expected in the material world. If one is predominantly spiritually minded, fulfillment is sought, above all, in spiritual matters. Furthermore, prophecy is proven true only after it happens and not before. For these reasons, it is not surprising, therefore, that prophecy is fulfilled in unexpected ways.

I have published a new book about Biblical prophecy entitled Vatican II and Antichrist. To highlight my point concerning the tendency of prophecy to be fulfilled in unexpected ways, I would like to share an excerpt from the preface:

“The real key to grasping the fulfillment of prophecy is not in the deciphering of events or the power of human intellect. Prophecies come from prophets who speak forth the mind of God. It stands to reason, therefore, that in order to know the mind of God we must know what He has revealed to us, namely the Catholic Faith. God’s mind is not bifurcated. The aspects of our Faith are central to the understanding of prophecy. I find it opportune here to reiterate the integrity and simplicity of all that comes from God. Believing what the Church teaches, living the Faith with heroic virtue, mortification of our concupiscence, a strong life of prayer, and especially the Mass and the Sacraments will put us in direct contact with the fulfillment of God’s word, whether we realize it or not.

To the extent that we let our minds and hearts wander into the world, to that extent we lose our focus and our understanding dims. This is most likely the primary reason why the Jews did not realize that the ultimate fulfillment of prophecy, Our Lord, was standing before them, speaking and performing miracles in their very presence. They had given themselves over to worldliness, even if in a religious context. The prophecies about the Messias were being fulfilled in their midst and they were blind to Him. They fully expected a worldly Messias because they had read worldliness into the Sacred Scriptures.”

Having shared these reflections, I now wish to shift our focus to a related subject. Dear reader, I ask you to hold onto these thoughts about prophecy and our expectations, as I will revisit them shortly. Before doing so, let me highlight something perhaps equally astonishing and captivating as Biblical prophecy. Indeed, one might even consider it prophetic in its own right. I am referring to the intricate, poetic, and chronological parallels between Church history and the Old Testament. 

A Foundation for Interpreting Prophecy

As you might be aware, in April of 2024, I published another book entitled Divine Poetry, which seeks to demonstrate the astonishing chronological parallels between Catholic Church history and the history of Israel in the Old Testament. This seamless fabric of continuous prefigurement culminates at the end of the Old Testament in the books of the Machabees, when the evil Greek king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (the recognized prefigurement of the Antichrist, as I’ll get to further in this article) invaded the Jewish Temple, tore down all the ornaments, erected a new, second altar, outlawed traditional Jewish sacrifice and worship, and mandated his new profane sacrifice, the abomination of desolation. In Church history, this happened for us, in parallel, with the events surrounding the Second Vatican Council. I have previously written an article on this blog, Introibo Ad Altare Dei, that details these amazing parallels. This article was published on March 11, 2024, entitled The Novus Ordo, The Abomination of Desolation, And The Prophet Daniel.

The depth and scope of these chronological parallels between the Old Testament and Church history form a solid foundation to identify the abomination of desolation, which Our Lord warned us about in Matthew 24. If you go back and read that article from March 11, 2024, you can see the compelling evidence for this assertion. The abomination of desolation is the Novus Ordo Rite of Paul VI!  

This identification of the Novus Ordo Rite as the long-dreaded abomination of desolation in turn allows us to see a fulfillment of the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks from Daniel 9. I have also written an article on this topic for Introibo Ad Altare Dei as well, published on April 29, 2024. This article demonstrates how the seventy weeks starts with the decree of Pope Nicholas V to rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica after his election in 1447 and how the prophecy culminates with the Novus Ordo Rite being universally mandated across the whole world by Nov 28, 1971. As the prophecy states, “in the half of the week the victim and the sacrifice shall fail” and “there shall be in the temple the abomination of desolation”. The Holy Mass was taken away in 1971, thus the “victim and the sacrifice” failed to be present in Catholic churches because it was replaced with the invalid, abominable Novus Ordo. I refer you back to that April 29 article. God willing, in future articles, I will endeavor to demonstrate that it is not just the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks from the book of Daniel that has fulfillment in Church history, but several other visions and prophecies from the book of Daniel can be likewise interpreted by using the parallels between Church history and the Old Testament. In my book Vatican II and Antichrist I go through each of them in detail.

Our Expectations of the Antichrist

With these fulfillments of the visions and prophecies of Daniel in mind, I would like to come back to my first point concerning prophecy and its expected fulfillment. 

As the world around us unravels, disintegrates, and catches on fire, I would venture to assert that a little voice in the back of our heads is wondering if we aren’t approaching the end. Evil men, with the aid of technology, algorithms, and human psychology have obtained monopolies of power across almost every spectrum of society and established institutions. In the Church, the Second Vatican Council has destroyed the Faith of billions. The remnant of the Catholic Church is patiently keeping the doctrines of the Faith, in particular, Sedevacantism alone preserves essential Church teaching about the papacy, which is integral to the Catholic Faith. With so much destruction and confusion manifesting both in the secular and ecclesial worlds, I am guessing that many are expecting, now more than ever, the arrival of the Antichrist in the not-so-distant future. However, are these expectations like those of the Jews at the time of Christ? Have they overlooked prophecy fulfillment that is, even now, right before us?

This is exactly what I intend to demonstrate, God willing, in future articles. It is also what I demonstrate in my book Vatican II and Antichrist. I can’t relate all the necessary evidence in one article, hence the need for me to write a 200-page book. However, the stage can be set with three main points, after which, I will end this article with the enticing, and perhaps somewhat annoying phrase, “to be continued”.

Point One: The Douay Rheims Bible Gives Vital Clues About Antichrist

The Douay Rheims footnotes for the book of Daniel are filled with references concerning the Antichrist. The prophecies and visions in the book of Daniel often describe, so the footnotes tell us, the pagan kingdoms that ruled over the Jews from the Babylonian captivity until the coming of Christ. In particular, the actions of the Greek Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes feature prominently in various chapters. The footnotes are explicit that Antiochus IV Epiphanes is the prefigurement of the Antichrist. Here are some examples from the footnotes of the book of Daniel.

[8] "Another little horn:" This is commonly understood of Antichrist. It may also be applied to that great persecutor Antiochus Epiphanes, as a figure of Antichrist. 

- Daniel 7:8

[9] "A little horn:" Antiochus Epiphanes, a descendant of Seleucus. He grew against the south, and the east, by his victories over the kings of Egypt and Armenia: and against the strength, that is, against Jerusalem and the people of God. 

-Daniel 8:9

[27] "The abomination of desolation:: Some understand this of the profanation of the temple by the crimes of the Jews, and by the bloody faction of the zealots. Others of the bringing in thither the ensigns and standard of the pagan Romans. Others, in fine, distinguish three different times of desolation: viz., that under Antiochus; that when the temple was destroyed by the Romans; and the last near the end of the world under Antichrist. To all which, as they suppose, this prophecy may have a relation. 

-Daniel 9:27

“The angel declares to Daniel many things to come, with regard to the Persian and Grecian kings: more especially with regard to Antiochus as a figure of Antichrist.” 

-Daniel 11 (Chapter Heading)

[21] "One despised:" Viz., Antiochus Epiphanes, who at first was despised and not received for king. What is here said of this prince, is accommodated by St. Jerome and others to Antichrist; of whom this Antiochus was a figure.  -Daniel 11:21

Recall from a previous paragraph in this article that Antiochus IV’s desecration of the Temple and his abomination of desolation are chronologically prefigured by the Second Vatican Council. Consequently, the implication from the aforementioned footnotes is clear. This conclusion is further reinforced by St. Alphonsus, who states in his book on the Holy Eucharist: 

“And this offering which our Lord then made of himself did not limit itself to that moment, but it only then began; it always has continued since, and it will continue forever. It is true it will cease on earth at the time of Antichrist: the Sacrifice of the Mass is to be suspended for twelve hundred and ninety days; that is, for three years six months and a half, according to the prophecy of Daniel: And from the time when the continual sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination unto desolation shall be set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred ninety day”

Point Two: Basic Catechism Indirectly Identifies the Antichrist

The Antichrist will impersonate Christ while at the same time mock and pervert Christ’s teachings. He will be a false Christ who will convince the world that he is the real Christ. Catholics know who, what, where, and how Christ is really and truly present in the world. We know that the Catholic Church is the Mystical Body of Christ. We know that the Holy Eucharist is Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.  We know that the Mass is the Sacrifice of Christ present on our altars. We know the pope is the vicar of Christ. We know that priests are “other Christs”. In short, the Catholic Church really and truly is Christ present in the world. Therefore, by the simple application of this Truth, there literally cannot be a greater Antichrist than an anti-church, anti-Mass, anti-pope, fake priests, etc. Even if a charismatic world politician unites the world’s governments, builds a third temple, tortures and kills Catholics, then this man still would not be a greater antichrist than the Vatican II antipopes. This is so because this man would not be taking the place of Christ, truly present in the Church. In short, to see the Antichrist, one must first possess the Catholic Faith.

Point Three: The Book of Daniel Unlocks Key Portions of the Apocalypse

The identification of the Novus Ordo Rite as the abomination of desolation is a key to interpreting the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks from Daniel 9, as I have mentioned above. The “final week” from this prophecy is the time in which the abomination of desolation appears in the temple, at the mid-point of this “final week”.  If a week is a unit of seven, then the mid-point is three-and-one-half. 

It is this three-and-one-half unit of time, coupled with the abomination of desolation that links the book of Daniel to the book of the Apocalypse, in particular, the time of the Seven-Headed Beast-Out-of-the-Sea from Apocalypse 13. If you remember from my April 29, 2024 article (on Introibo Ad Altare Dei’s blog), the “final week” from the prophecy in Daniel 9 is also the period of the “Seven Kings”. It just so happens that St. John is told: “And here is the understanding that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, upon which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings:” - Apocalypse 17:9 

The three-and-one-half times from Daniel 9 is a vital link to the book of the Apocalypse. This Beast with seven heads is permitted “to make war with the saints, and to overcome them” for “forty-two months” – Apocalypse 13.

Forty-two months is the same unit of time as three-and-one-half years. Thus, the implication can be made that the Beast is able to overcome the saints for three-and-one-half times because of the abomination of desolation. In other words, the Beast gains power over Catholics because he takes away the true Mass and substitutes the fake Novus Ordo Rite. The saints (Catholics) lost the graces from the Mass and also had the Faith stolen from them (in a manner of speaking). 

Conclusion

It makes total sense, and it is totally appropriate, that Biblical prophecy is centered on the Truths of the Catholic Faith, namely the Church, the Mass, and the Papacy. Prophecy is often fulfilled in unexpected ways. The chronological parallels between Church history and the Old Testament give us a firm foundation to identify the abomination of desolation as the Novus Ordo Rite, which in turn allows us to see the fulfillment of Daniel 9 in our times. Daniel 9 is structurally linked to key passages from the book of the Apocalypse. All of these visions and prophecies are a mystical and metaphorical portrayal of the Second Vatican Council and the reign of the Antichrist from the Vatican (the Temple of God). 

This short presentation is only the tip of the iceberg. In my new book Vatican II and Antichrist, other vision and prophecy fulfillments from the books of Daniel and the Apocalypse are also likewise demonstrated in this same context, plus much more! 

You can find this book at www.gloriousheritagebooks.com or you can visit my website www.maccabeanuprising.com to see the same content presented in PDF and video formats. I hope to delve further into these topics in future articles on this blog, God willing. To be continued.