CHAPTER XXIV

THE ENEMIES OF RELIGIOUS ATTRIBUTE TO THEM THE EVILS WHICH WILL BEFALL THE CHURCH IN THE LATTER DAYS. THEY TRY TO PROVE THAT THE TIMES OF ANTICHRIST ARE AT HAND

We will now consider how the enemies of religious attribute to them all the evils which will befall the Church in her latter days, by declaring that they are the forerunners of Antichrist. They adduce two arguments, in support of this proposition. (1) They say that the days of Antichrist are at hand. (2) They say that religious are the emissaries of Antichrist, because they preach and hear confessions.

             1. They try to prove that the latter days of the world are at hand, by the words of St. Paul, (1 Cor. x. 11), "These things are written for our correction upon whom the ends of the world are come." They also quote the words of St. John (1st Ep. ii. 18), "Little children, it is the last hour." St. Paul writes again, (Heb. x. 37): "For yet a little and a very little while, and he that is to come will come, and will make no delay." In the Epistle of St. James (v. 9) we read: "Behold the Judge standeth before the door." Those who quote these texts, in support of their arguments, maintain, that as so long a time has elapsed since the apostolic times, the advent of Antichrist must be imminent.

             We may, of course, gather from these passages that the time of Antichrist is at hand. For, the Holy Scripture always speaks of time as being very short, in comparison to eternity. Thus, in St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians (vii. 29), we read: "The time is short." In this sense, the interpretation given to these words by our opponents is not reprehensible. Nevertheless, the texts which they quote, cannot be considered as a confirmation of their opinion, that the days which are to be dreaded in the days of Antichrist, are immediately imminent; and that they are caused by the religious of our day, into whose conduct (they say) it behoves bishops to make enquiries. It is presumption to conclude, from the texts just quoted, that Antichrist is to come within some definite period of time, be it seven years, or a hundred, or a thousand years. Our Lord said to His disciples, when they asked Him: "It is not for you to know" (Acts ii. 7). As St. Augustine writes to Hesychius: "If it was not for the disciples to know, much less is it for any others." Again, we read (Matt. xxiv. 36): "Of that day and hour no one knoweth, not even the angels of heaven." And in the 2nd Epistle to the Thessalonians (ii. 2) we read: "We beseech you, brethren, . . . that you be not easily moved from your sense . . . as if the day of the Lord were at hand."

             St. Augustine says (Epist. ad Hesychium): "You say the Gospel tells us that no man knoweth that day or hour. I tell you, as far as my understanding will suffice, that no man can know the month nor the year of the coming of the Lord. This seems as if the words had been understood to mean, that, though none can say in what year the Lord will come, it is possible to know in what septet, or decade of years, his coming may be expected." St. Augustine further says: "Although we cannot understand this, I would ask you whether we can know the time of the coming of the Lord, so far as to be able to say: He will come within the next fifty, or hundred years, or within some period more or less extended?" And again: "If you say that you cannot understand, I agree with you."

             2. Certain men were condemned in the early days of the Church for teaching, as men teach now, that the coming of the Lord was imminent. We have this on the authority of St. Jerome (De illustr. viris), and of Eusebius, (Ecclesiast. Histor.). No period, either long or short, can be determined, in which is to be expected the end of the world, or the coming of Christ or of Antichrist. It is for this reason, that we are told, that, "the day of the Lord shall come as a thief" (1 Thess. v. 2), and that as, "in the days of Noe they knew not till the flood came and took them all away, so also shall the coming of the Son of man be" (Matt. xxiv. 38). St. Augustine, in his Epistle to Hesychius, speaks of three classes of men who made assertions respecting the coming of Our Lord. One class expects Him soon; another later; and the third declares its ignorance of the time of His coming. This last opinion meets with the approbation of St. Augustine, and he censures the presumption of the others.

             Those who say that the second advent is at hand, try to establish the following argument. The last age begins with the coming of Christ. Foregoing ages have not lasted longer than a thousand years. As, then, much more than a thousand years have elapsed since the coming of Christ, His second coming must be shortly expected. This argument is answered by St. Augustine (lib. 83 Quaest. LX.). He writes thus: "Age is supposed to include a time equal to the aggregate of all the periods that have elapsed." He compares this latter time to old age. Then he concludes, by saying: "It is, thus, uncertain by what generations the final period of time, which begins with the coming of Our Lord and is to end with the end of the world, is to be counted." God has chosen, for some wise purpose, to keep this hidden. So it is written in the Gospel. St. Paul also declares that," the day of the Lord is to come like a thief in the night."

             3. Those who believe in the speedy coming of Antichrist, say that his appearance is heralded by eight signs.

             1. They quote the words of Daniel (vii. 25) concerning Antichrist: "He shall think himself able to change times." That is to say, according to the Gloss, "His pride is so excessive, that he strives to alter laws and ceremonies." On account of these words the days of Antichrist are said to be at hand; because certain men try to alter the Gospel of Christ into another gospel, which they call "eternal." The Gospel of which they speak, is a certain Introduction to the books of Joachim, which is condemned by the Church. Or else, it is the doctrine of Joachim, whereby they say, the Gospel of Christ is altered. But granted that this hypothesis were true, it would be no token of the approach of Antichrist. For, even in the days of the Apostles, certain men tried to alter the Gospel of Christ. Thus St. Paul says (Gal. i. 6): "I wonder that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ, unto another Gospel."

             2. The second sign of the coming of Antichrist, is supposed to be found in the words of the Psalmist (ix. 21): "Appoint, O Lord, a lawgiver over them." This the Gloss interprets to mean, "the Antichrist, the giver of an evil law." As the doctrine which we have already mentioned, which they call the law of Antichrist, was promulgated at Paris, it is thought to be a sign that Antichrist is at hand. But, it is not true to say, that the doctrine of Joachim, or that which is contained in the Introduction to the Gospel of Joachim, howsoever reprehensible it may be, is the doctrine which will be preached by Antichrist. For, Antichrist will proclaim himself to be God. St. Paul says expressly (2 Thess. ii. 4), "So that he sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God." For, if, by the teaching of Antichrist, all false doctrine is to be understood, just as all heretics are called Antichrists; then, the alleged proof of the speedy coming of Antichrist is no proof at all. For, from the earliest days of the Church, there has never been a time, in which heretical teaching has not been disseminated. "Even now there are become many Antichrists" (1 Ep. John ii.). On these words, the Gloss remarks: "All heretics are Antichrists."

             3. The third supposed sign of the coming of Antichrist is found in the Book of Daniel (v.) and in Isaias (xxi.). We read there the account of the hand that wrote Mane, Thecel, Phares on the wall of Babylon. Those who believe that Antichrist is at hand, maintain, that the same prediction which formerly was written up in Babylon, is now written in the Church. Mane was interpreted to mean, "God hath numbered thy Kingdom and hath finished it"; and the Kingdom of Christ is now numbered, for it has been foretold that it is to endure a thousand two hundred and seventy years. Thecel signified, "thou art weighed in the balance and art found wanting"; and the "Eternal Gospel" is preferred to the Gospel of Christ. Phares meant, "thy Kingdom is divided, and is given to the Medes and Persians"; and the Kingdom of the Church is now finished, and given to others. Thus, the writing on the wall signified, both the destruction of the Church, and the ruin of Babylon.

             This, however, seems a very foolish idea. St. Augustine tells us (18 de Civ. Dei), that certain men said that Christianity was to last for three hundred and sixty-five years, and that, at the end of that time, it was to cease to exist. Thus, it is no new thing to assign a limit for the duration of Christianity, since this was done even before the time of Augustine. Hence, this is no reason for believing Antichrist to be at hand. St. Augustine says, likewise, (ibid.), that, in his time, some men estimated that four hundred years, others that five hundred, were to elapse between the Ascension of Christ and His second coming. Others, again, reckoned that this period was to embrace a thousand years. But the words of Our Lord, "It is not yours to know the times or the moments," etc. (Acts i. 7), expose the folly of all such suppositions. St. Augustine, furthermore, blames the kind of arguments used in such conjectures. He compares them to the hypothesis of some, that, as there were ten plagues of Egypt, so there were to be ten persecutions of the Church. He says, that such opinions are mere human conjectures, established on no foundation of truth. Those who interpret the handwriting on the wall as prophetic of the speedy coming of Antichrist, show their agreement with the Scripture that they reprobate; because, like the Scripture, they say, that the beloved Babylon is soon to be destroyed. But there is no real similitude. For, the handwriting in Babylon, was divinely displayed, and it was, therefore, a proof of the truth: but the writing, of which these would-be prophets speak, is a figment of error, on which no argument can be founded.

             They take their other five signs from the signs of which Our Lord speaks in the Gospel of St. Matthew, as portents of His coming.

             4. The fourth sign is taken from the words recorded in the Gospel of St. Matthew (xxiv. 29): "Then shall they put you to death; and you shall be hated by all nations for my name's sake." This sign is said to be now fulfilled. For, as men will not endure correction, they persecute those holy ones who reprove them, by hatred, by manifold tribulations, and even by death. But, this is no argument at all. For, this sort of persecution befell the Apostles and the martyrs, of whom Our Lord foretold it. Hence, the fact that the Church suffers persecution at present, is no more proof that the second advent is at hand, than it was in the Apostolic age.

             5. The fifth sign is taken from the following words: "Then shall many be scandalised." This prediction is supposed to be fulfilled; because religious are calumniated, and men take scandal thereat. But, this interpretation of the text, is opposed to that of the Gloss, which says: "Men shall be scandalised, i.e., they shall fall from the faith, through fear of the greatness of the torments inflicted on believers." Thus, this prediction was fulfilled at the time of the martyrs. It is nothing new for holy men to be spoken ill of by the impious. Even the Apostles were told (Matt. v. 11): "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and speak all that is evil against you untruly." We also read in ecclesiastical history how tyrants caused faithful Christians to be accused of the blackest crimes.

             6. The sixth sign is taken from the words: "Many false prophets shall arise, and shall seduce many." We are told that this sign is now manifested: because certain religious appear who are called false prophets; because they commend themselves; and for other reasons, of the same kind. But, this interpretation will be seen to be erroneous if we compare it with the Gloss on the passage in the Gospel of St. Mark (xiii.), wherein false prophets are understood to mean heretics, or those, who, after the Passion of Our Lord, and before the destruction of Jerusalem, seduced the Jewish nation. We have, also, already spoken at length on the subject of false prophets.

             7. The seventh sign is taken from the words: "Because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold." It is maintained, that we now see the accomplishment of this prediction; inasmuch as, those who seemed to be the most zealous defenders of the Church, forsake the Gospel of Christ, and adhere to the "Eternal Gospel"; whereby they show, that the love which they owe to Christ, has grown cold. But, this statement is untrue. For, those about whom it is made, have not abandoned the Gospel of Christ, and do not profess to believe in any other Gospel. But, granted that the accusation were true, there have been, in all ages, men in the Church, who appeared perfect, and yet originated heresies. We may mention Pelagius, Nestorius, and Eutyches. There have also been many others of the same description. But they did not, therefore, prove that their charity had grown cold. For, although they did not follow the teaching of the Gospel, they did not persecute it. There is no need of persecution, where there is no defender of the truth. Such a persecution would revive extinct errors; and, under pretext of refuting them, would teach them to the people; and this is the greatest of dangers. Hence, St. Gregory says (14 Moral.), that, after Eutyches had died leaving no followers, he would not labour to exterminate his errors, lest he should again fan them into flame.

             8. The eighth sign is taken from the words: "This gospel of the Kingdom, shall be preached in the whole world." These words are said to be fulfilled in themselves; because they proclaim the signs and dangers which they wish all men to avoid, according to the words of St. Paul (2 Tim. iv. 2): "Preach the word; be instant, in season, out of season." We are told that those who do not preach these signs are false apostles, who have not, like the animals mentioned in the Fourth Chapter of the Apocalypse, "eyes before and behind," to know both the future and the past. But this sign is worth nothing. Even in the early ages of the Church, there were, as ecclesiastical history relates, many who proclaimed similar prophecies, and who were, on this account, reproved by other Catholics of weight. The Gloss on the words, "Many shall come in my name" (Mark xiii.) says: "Many, at a time when ruin was imminent, came, proclaiming themselves to be Christs, and falsely declaring that freedom was at hand. And many in the Church, even in the Apostolic ages, threatened the faithful with the speedy coming of the Lord." Hence, they who foretell these signs, are not numbered among those who proclaim the Gospel, but among those who seduce many. Consequently, when Our Lord said, "this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached," He referred, not to the preaching of these vain signs, but to the teaching of the Christian faith which, before His second advent, will be disseminated throughout the whole world. Hence, as St. Augustine proves, in his letter to Hesychius, the day of the Lord could not be in his time at hand, since there still existed nations to which the Gospel had not, as yet, been preached. Those who proclaim this sign, do themselves fall into the snare which they have prepared for others. For they call a certain new doctrine, the Gospel of the Kingdom, and affirm themselves to be the signs which announce the Gospel of the Kingdom. St. Augustine sums up the folly and worthlessness of these five last signs, in the following words: "Perchance, if we diligently compare and examine all that the three Evangelists have said of the coming of Christ, we shall find, that it points to His daily advent in His body the Church, of which coming He said: 'A little while and you shall see the Son of man coming, or sitting "' (Epist. ad Hesych.).