THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Sit down my readers, grab a cup of tea and I'll tell you a story about your future. Actually it's our future, and the future of our children, and their children. You'll want to pay close attention, because if you're under the age of fifty, you're likely to see these events transpire within your lifetime.
If you've been watching the news lately, you've probably noticed that it seems like the world is going to hell in a hand basket. Well, you're a very perceptive person, because it truly is. You see the bad news is that for the short term, things are only going to get worse, much worse. Oh sure, we'll probably have some brief respites when things settle down a bit, but they'll be followed by calamities even worse. I'm talking about the man-made kind actually, not the natural disasters, as we have always had those. I'm talking about such man-made disasters as economic crisis, civil unrest, wars and famine. You're probably wondering what went wrong? Why is the world so screwed up? What ever happened to the good ol' days?
Well, let me lay this out for you in very simple terms. The good ol' days ended a long time ago, long before any of us were born, and long before anyone alive today can remember. Would it surprise you to learn that our time was prophesied centuries ago with alarming accuracy? Here, let me give you an example...
After the year 1900, toward the middle of the 20th century, the people of that time will become unrecognisable. When the time for the Advent of the Antichrist approaches, peoples minds will grow cloudy from carnal passions, and dishonour and lawlessness will grow stronger. Then the world will become unrecognisable. Peoples appearances will change, and it will be impossible to distinguish men from women due to there shamelessness in dress and style of hair. These people will be cruel and will be like wild animals because of the temptations of the Antichrist. There will be no respect for parents or elders, love will disappear, and Christian pastors, bishops, and priests will become vain men, completely failing to distinguish the right hand way from the left. At that time the morals and traditions of Christians and the Church will change. People will abandon modesty, and dissipation will reign. Falsehood and greed will attain great proportions, and woe to those who pile up treasures. Lust, adultery, homosexuality, secret deeds and murder will rule in society.
-- St. Nilus, 430 AD
You'll notice in St. Nilus' prophecy a reference to Antichrist. Now I should point out here that Nilus did not say the Antichrist would come in the 20th century, nor in the 21st century. He specifically said "when the time for the advent of the Antichrist approaches." In other words, when it is getting close to that time, but not necessarily the actual time itself. That's important to remember, because our Evangelical Christian friends (God love 'em) actually believe the time of the Antichrist is here, and he'll make is presence known any day now. Of course a lot of them believe they're going to be "raptured" as well, in a supernatural event that will snatch them out of this world so they will not have to endure the temptations of Antichrist. Now, that's a pleasant thought, but totally unbiblical. The early Church Fathers, those Christians who lived closest to the Apostolic age, knew nothing of this "rapture" as it is commonly taught, that is allegedly supposed to spare modern day Evangelicals from the same kind of hardship endured by the early Christians under the Roman persecutions. It's no matter though, because in a very short time Evangelicalism will no longer exist. For that matter, neither will any Protestant denomination or sect. All of the pluralism we see in Christianity today will soon be extinct.
Now comes the journey. I hope you're comfortable, because I'm about to reveal something to you that very few Christians today know, but was once common knowledge back in the early days of the Church. It all centers around the time period leading up to the Antichrist, and in order to understand the Antichrist, we must first understand the centuries leading up to it, of which the 20th century marked the first. We are now in the second - the 21st century. What I don't know is how many centuries we have left to go. What I do know is the time is short, and there are not many centuries left, but the one we currently live in will by far be the most interesting, the most terrifying and the most wonderful. Are you sitting down?
And after these shall arise Antichrist and having by the signs and lying wonders of his magical deceit, beguiled the Jews as though he were the expected Christ, he shall afterwards characterize himself by all kinds of excesses of cruelty and lawlessness…and he shall perpetrate such things for 3 years and 6 monthsNow as these writings get closer in proximity to the time of the Apostles, we can safely assume that what we are reading is not so much a mystical prediction of private revelation, as it is a faithful passing on of oral tradition from the Apostles themselves. A lot is said about the Antichrist by the early Church Fathers, and from this we learn a lot about him. We learn that he will deceive the Jews. From other contemporary writings we learn that he will be a Jew himself, born in the Middle East somewhere in present-day Iraq, and will come to power in the area we now call Israel. As a Jew he will deceive the Jewish people into believing he is the Messiah, and two-thirds of the world will follow him. We do not know how long his actual reign in Jerusalem will be, but it is suspected that he will reign for a fairly long time (perhaps decades), but it is the last 3 1/2 years of his reign that is most interesting. This is when he seizes control of the "Roman Empire." It is during this time he unleashes the most ferocious persecution of Christians the world has ever known, rivaling that of all the Roman emperors in ages past, and the Communists and Muslims to today. Let us understand something here. Many evil men have reigned over various territories in the past, and it is likely that many more evil men are to come, but just being "evil" is not what makes one the Antichrist. The word "Antichrist" is a biblical term. It has religious underpinnings and outside of religion it means nothing. The word "Antichrist" is the Greek rendering of a 1st century Jewish concept of the Anti-Messiah! The Anti-Messiah is a false Messiah, and to be sure, the Jews have seen many anti-messiahs in their history. However, this one foretold in Christian Scripture and Tradition is a special case. It is an Anti-Messiah (false Messiah) that is so convincing that he not only dupes almost all the Jews, but two-thirds of the world's population as well. Christian Scripture and Tradition tell us he doesn't act alone, but he is aided by none other than the devil himself. All of this is extremely important to remember, because if we are to properly understand the Antichrist, we must do so strictly in Jewish terms.
"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."
This one shall seize the power of the Roman Empire and shall falsely style himself Christ. By the name Christ he shall deceive the Jews who are expecting the anointed and he shall seduce the Gentiles by his magical illusions.
-- St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 386 AD
Now it is the last portion of St. Cyril's record that is of particular interest to us. He states the "this one" meaning Antichrist "shall seize the power of the Roman Empire." Now that is interesting since the Roman Empire ceased to exist some 1,500 years ago in the West and some 550 years ago in the East. Our Evangelical brethren, once again hot on the trail of a supposed present-day Antichrist, have pointed out the reunification of Europe under the European Union, and assume this must be the return of ancient Rome. Once again that's a quaint idea but in order to truly have an empire you must first have an emperor - a single monarch who's rule is absolute. Nothing like that exists today. St. Cyril tells us the Antichrist "shall seize the power of the Roman Empire," implying that he just takes it, as if it is not rightfully his to begin with. How then? How does a man steal some nonexistent thing, from somebody who clearly does not exist? The answer is simple. The emperor and empire still have yet to come...
You'll notice we're going further back in time now. This writing comes to us from the early third century, while Christians were still being thrown to lions under the Roman persecutions. St. Hippolytus' grandfather would have been old enough to remember the Apostle John. The teachings of the apostles about these things still would have been fresh in Church memory. The context is in reference to the Antichrist, and indeed these early Church fathers did preoccupy themselves with the Antichrist in many of their writings. Once again we learn a few new traits of this man of sin. It is however, the first sentence that is of most interest to us now. "The Great Gaulish Monarch, who shall subject all the East, shall come around the end of the world." Notice the vague reference to time. He shall come "around the end of the world." It's not at the end of the world, or even immediately before the end of the world, but "around" that time. So it is sometime in the centuries prior to the end of the world, and likewise the coming of Antichrist. According to St. Nilus' prophecy above about the end times beginning around the later half of the 20th century, that would put the coming of this "Great Gaulish Monarch" sometime in our immediate proximity. In case you're wondering, "Gaul" was what the ancient Romans called a certain portion of Western Europe. Today we call it France. In the centuries to follow, more Christians gave testimony to this tradition presumably coming from the Apostolic era...The Great Gaulish Monarch, who shall subject all the East, shall come around the end of the world. These things, then, coming to pass, beloved, and the one week being divided into two parts, and the abomination of desolation being manifested then, and the two prophets and forerunners of the Lord having finished their course, and the whole world finally approaching the consummation, what remains but' the coming of our Lord and Saviour from heaven, for whom we have looked in hope? who shall bring the conflagration and just judgment upon all who have refused to believe on Him
"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, 236 AD
A Frankish King will one day rule over the entire Roman Empire."Okay, so we now know that the early Christians believed there would one day come a French king who would rule over the entire Roman Empire, and that this will happen toward the end of the world, or more specifically in the centuries leading up to the time of Antichrist and the end of the world. We currently live in an age of Republics right now. Western monarchies are effectively neutered these days - little more than national figureheads. There is no Roman Empire to speak of, because there is no Roman emperor. Right now Europe is united as a loose confederacy of republics. There is no central figurehead, and there is not likely to be under the constitutional system now set up. So how can this happen? Another 4th century saint gives us a clue...
-- St. Augustine, 5th Century
He shall reign over the entire ancient Roman Empire."
-- Remy, 5th Century
A time will come when the enemies of Christ will boast: "We have subjected the earth and all its inhabitants, and the Christians cannot escape our hands." Then a Roman Emperor will arise in great fury against them... Drawing his sword, he will fall upon the foes of Christianity and crush them. Then peace will reign on earth, and priests will be relieved of all their anxieties.
In the latter days of the world, Christians will become ungrateful for the great favours they will receive through the coming of the great Monarch, by reason of the long period of peace and prosperity on earth which they will enjoy under his reign. Many man will then begin to doubt if the Christian faith is the only really sanctifying faith and will think perhaps the Jews are right because they are awaiting the Messiah.
--St. Methodius of Olympus, 311 AD
Okay, so now we have a chronology. First a great time of trial for Christians comes. Then the Great French Monarch comes to save the day, putting down the enemies of Christianity. In turn however, because of the great peace he delivers that lasts a very long time, people will start to take it for granted. As a result there will be a great apostasy, eventually leading two-thirds of the world's population away from Christ, and resulting in the rise of Antichrist.
So now we have the big picture. The reason why the Antichrist will eventually be able to steal the power of the Roman Empire is because the Roman Empire is coming back. This time not as a Pagan system, but as the medieval Holy Roman Empire restored! Only after a long period of such rule will the Antichrist come and attempt to steal it away.
As we look around us, we can see that the fall of democratic republicanism in our time is inevitable now. The Socialist-Islamic (IslamoSocialist) alliance in Europe has successfully exploited the weakness of our democratic system, and the problem will only get worse in the years (or decades) ahead. That coupled with the moral decline and economic decline of the western world, signals the end of the American and European republics.
(Zenit.org) - On an official visit to Italy this week, the Libyan chief of state caused a few ripples by stating that Europe should convert to Islam. The general public was perhaps more shocked, however, by his request for a few billion dollars to stop African immigration.
However, a missionary priest did call for taking seriously Muammar al-Qadhafi's statements on religion, saying a European conversion to Islam just might happen if the continent continues denying its Christian roots.
Father Piero Gheddo of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions and founder of the missionary news agency AsiaNews, said that far from being "folklore," al-Qadhafi's summons could become a reality in a few decades....
read full story here
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(CBN) Friday in Paris. A hidden camera shows streets blocked by huge crowds of Muslim worshippers and enforced by a private security force.
This is all illegal in France: the public worship, the blocked streets, and the private security. But the police have been ordered not to intervene.
It shows that even though some in the French government want to get tough with Muslims and ban the burqa, other parts of the French government continue to give Islam a privileged status.
An ordinary French citizen who has been watching the Islamization of Paris decided that the world needed to see what was happening to his city. He used a hidden camera to start posting videos on YouTube. His life has been threatened and so he uses the alias of "Maxime Lepante."
The only counter to this IslamoSocialist infiltration is a healthy and robust Christianity - particularly CATHOLIC Christianity - as it is the only form of Christianity that abhors artificial birth control and has successfully repelled Islam in the past (in the crusades!). What these ancient prophecies tell us is another crusade is coming. It will be the last and final crusade - the mother of all crusades - that will deliver a death blow to the whole IslamoSocialist regime in Europe and the IslamoShariah system in the Middle East.
