1. Apostasy and Heresy

Apostasy is the complete abandonment of the Christian faith. Heretics generally retain some elements of the true faith. Heresy differs from apostasy in that heresy rejects some portions of the faith, whereas apostasy abandons it altogether. Apostasy is a more serious sin than heresy, but both types of sin are objectively gravely immoral.

Heresy is often the beginning of apostasy. For example, a man who rejects the teaching of the Catholic Church about the real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist will tend to devalue the Mass and eventually stop going to Mass. And a man who rejects Church teaching on moral issues will tend to devalue Confession and stop receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Eventually, such persons fall away from the faith altogether, because they no longer see the value of the faith and no longer receive the Sacraments, and because the Church continues to teach ideas that they reject, and because their lives are in fundamental conflict with the teaching and practice of the faith.

Now some persons who have essentially abandoned the Christian faith may retain some elements of the faith incidentally. For example, a man who stops practicing and believing the Catholic Christian faith may continue to believe in God and may continue to believe that certain acts are immoral. Such continued belief often occurs in apostates, for the grace of God is continually seeking their return to the fullness of faith. But such persons are still properly called apostates, because what is left of their belief and practice can no longer be called Christian.

2. The Tribulation is Divided into Two Parts

The tribulation is that period of time, described in the Book of Revelation, which contains the events of the Seven Seals. The Seventh Seal is divided into Seven Trumpets. The Seventh Trumpet is divided into Seven Bowls of God's Wrath. All of these things-Seals, Trumpets, Bowls-are metaphors used to describe and order a series of events. These events are a punishment of the world by God because of sin.

The tribulation is divided into two parts. The first part consists of the first Six Seals and the first Six Trumpets of the Seventh Seal. The second part consists of the events of the Antichrist's reign (i.e. the beast and the false prophet), of the sufferings endured by the Church during that time, and of the final punishments (only for the unrepentant wicked) called the Seven Bowls of God's Wrath.

The first part of the tribulation begins with the two year period of time 2009/2010, and continues until the three days of darkness in late 2039 or early 2040. The Three Days of Darkness is the Sixth Trumpet of the Seventh Seal. By the end of those three days, God will have miraculously healed the earth from the lingering effects of the earlier Seals and Trumpets. Then there will be a brief time of peace and holiness, lasting only a few decades, beginning in the year 2040. This time of peace begins with the reign of the great Catholic monarch (a holy political leader) and the Angelic Shepherd (the holy Pope of that time).

After the great monarch's kingship ends, when he willingly steps down as leader, his kingdom will be divided into four parts. The northern part includes most of Europe. The southern part consists of Israel, the Middle East, and northern Africa. The rulers over these two parts are referred to, in the Book of Daniel, as the king of the North and the king of the South.

The second part of the tribulation is prepared for by the reign of the ten kings. During the 2300's A.D. (the 24th century), the world will become divided into ten regions, consisting of ten groups of nations, and each nation will have one leader, for a total of ten rulers only over the whole world. Now some of these ten kingdoms will be, to some extent, democratic; but these will not be free and fair democracies. Each kingdom will have one leader with much power. Each government will be very powerful and have much control over all its citizens.

The kingdoms of the ten kings will each be very sinful kingdoms. Their laws will permit all manner of serious sins. Their culture promotes all manner of serious sins. They generally have an exterior peace, but it is obtained through very severe punishments and through stringent restrictions on freedoms. This exterior peace obtained by unjust actions is the false peace often spoken of as preceding the time of the Antichrist. There will be some violent crimes that are illegal in those kingdoms, but also very many crimes against God that have been made legal. There will be less war for most parts of the world, except between the North (Europe) and the South (Israel, Middle East, northern Africa). The kingdoms of the North and the South will be at war, off and on, for generations (see Dan 11).

The time of the ten kings continues for a number of generations, until the early 25th century. Then, in the early 25th century (probably the 2420's), the Antichrist takes over as the king of the North. He has little power at first because their form of government involves many different leaders with varying degrees of power. He uses betrayals and deception and outright violence, against individuals and groups, to consolidate power, eventually achieving dictatorial power over the kingdom of the North.

The second part of the tribulation begins in 2430 after the Antichrist goes to war against the king of the South, who at that time will be a Catholic Christian (but not particularly holy). The Antichrist wins the war, not so much by battles, as by betrayals within the kingdom of the South. The king of the South is killed. The supporters of the Antichrist then kill the Pope. Now the Antichrist controls two of the ten kingdoms. These two kingdoms had been at war for generations (as described in Daniel 11), and so they have the most advanced, experienced, and powerful militaries in the world.

Next (in 2430/2431), the kings of the next two most powerful kingdoms, i.e. the king of Africa (excluding the northern part) and the king of the East (China, etc.), try to defeat the Antichrist by deceitful negotiations and betrayals. But the Antichrist defeats them by these same tactics. Now the Antichrist controls the four most powerful kingdoms in the world, with the four most powerful militaries. The other six kingdoms know they cannot defeat these four, so they agree to obey the Antichrist, making him the one leader over the whole world.

The first part of the tribulation is similar in many ways to the second part of the tribulation. But the second part is much more severe than the first part. Both parts contain a great apostasy and the abomination. But the apostasy and abomination of the second part is greater.

3. Events Surrounding the Abomination

The Abomination of Desolation is mentioned in Sacred Scripture, in a number of different books of the Old and New Testaments. The Book of Daniel (CPDV) describes the events leading up to the abomination:

{9:24} Seventy weeks of years are concentrated on your people and on your holy city, so that transgression shall be finished, and sin shall reach an end, and iniquity shall be wiped away, and so that everlasting justice shall be brought in, and vision and prophecy shall be fulfilled, and the Saint of saints shall be anointed.
{9:25} Therefore, know and take heed: from the going forth of the word to build up Jerusalem again, until the Christ leader, there will be seven weeks of years, and sixty-two weeks of years; and the wide path will be built again, and the walls, in a time of anguish.
{9:26} And after sixty-two weeks of years, the Christ leader will be slain. And the people who have denied him will not be his. And the people, when their leader arrives, will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will be devastation, and, after the end of the war, the desolation will be set up.
{9:27} But he will confirm a covenant with many for one week of years; and for half of the week of years, victim and sacrifice will nearly cease; but there will be in the temple the abomination of desolation. And the desolation will continue even to the consummation and the end.

The Christ leader (Christum ducem) is a Christian leader, one man who has both political and military authority. The Latin 'Christum' refers to an Anointed person, and, from a Christian point of view, it refers to a Christian leader, i.e. anointed to lead. The word 'ducem' also refers to leadership, but in a more secular sense, and it is often used to refer to someone with both military and political authority.

The “the going forth of the word to build up Jerusalem again” is the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. The “seven weeks of years” is 490 years (7 x 70). So the 490 years is from 1948 as year one, to 2437 as year 490. After seven weeks of years, and again after 62 more weeks of years, at each of those two times, a Christian leader arises. The first is the great monarch (the he-goat of Daniel chapter 8). Seven weeks of years is 49 years; year one is 1948, so year 49 is 1996. Thus the great Catholic monarch was born in 1997 (i.e. arriving after the 49 years). The additional 62 weeks of years is to be added to the seven weeks of years, which brings us to the year 2430. The seventieth and last week of years is therefore from 2431 to 2437 A.D. In the year 2430, another Christian leader rises up in a war that results in his death (Daniel 11:25-26). He is called the king of the South by Daniel chapter 11. So the first Christ-like leader is referred to by the start of his life, and the second Christ-like leader is referred to by the end of his life.

“And after sixty-two weeks of years, the Christ leader will be slain. And the people who have denied him will not be his.” (Dan. 9:26). The Christian king of the South is slain by means of betrayal during the brief war of 2430 A.D. Those who betray him are not from his own family, nor his own religious group. This is the king of the South spoken of in Daniel 11:25-26. He is called the king of the South because he rules over the area that was formerly the southern most part of the great monarch's kingdom (Israel, the Middle East, northern Africa).

The reference about the death of the Christ leader actually has a dual meaning: “And after sixty-two weeks of years, the Christ leader will be slain.” (Dan. 9:26). It refers not only to the Christian king of the South, but also to the Pope. “And the people, when their leader arrives, will destroy the city and the sanctuary.” (Dan. 9:26). When the Antichrist defeats the Christian king of the South and he arrives in Jerusalem, the people who support the Antichrist will destroy the center of authority in the Church at Rome (i.e. the future equivalent of Vatican City), and the Catholic Basilica in Jerusalem (the center of worship in the Church). And they will kill the Pope of that time (the last true Pope before the Return of Christ). For the defeat of the Christian king of the South is the end of the last governmental protections for Christianity.

The abomination of desolation is also called simply the abomination, or simply the desolation. “...after the end of the war, the desolation will be set up.” (Dan. 9:26). After the end of the brief war of 2430, in which the Antichrist defeats the Christian king of the South by betrayals, not by battles, the abomination of desolation is set up.

4. The Abomination is a False Eucharist

The abomination is a false Eucharist, devised by those who are Christian in name only; it is not devised by the Antichrist. Once the Christian king of the South is killed along with the Pope in 2430 A.D., those who reject the teaching of the Church, yet still call themselves Catholic or Christian, will be free to practice their own perverse version of the Catholic faith. The Antichrist has little interest in such things at that time. He hates the true Catholic Church, so he permits these apostates to continue in their ways, but he is focused on gaining more power, on consolidating that power, and on exalting himself.

These severe heretics claim to be Catholic, but they have really abandoned and contradicted so much of the faith that they can only properly be called apostates. They teach and practice a severely-altered version of the Catholic religion. They have persons who claim to be priests and bishops, but who are not validly ordained. They have women who claim to be priests and bishops. They admit persons to the priesthood who are openly committing serious sexual sins of every kind. Their bishops and priests are generally not validly ordained because some are women, who cannot be validly ordained as priests or bishops, and because some are men who were ordained by women claiming to be bishops, and because they have lost the true Sacraments altogether by a severe alteration the belief and practice of the faith. They alter every ritual to the point that it continues to be a ritual, but ceases to be a Sacrament. Even their Baptisms are not valid because they have altered the ritual so severely. This group of apostates, who claim to be Catholic, give themselves free reign to spread their errors even more widely, once the Christian king of the South and the Pope have been killed by the Antichrist.

The abomination of desolation is a false Eucharist, a perverse imitation of that Most Blessed Sacrament. It is not a valid Eucharist because their ministers are not validly ordained; some are not even validly Baptized. It is also not a valid Eucharist because, eventually, they change the wording of the consecration and they replace bread and wine with other things. These persons claim to worship God, but they embrace mortal sin as if it were virtue; they call what is evil, good; and they call what is good, evil. Those who deliberately and knowingly accept this perverse imitation of the Catholic faith are committing an actual mortal sin, and so they lose the state of grace in their soul by accepting this false religion.

This time period is one in which false signs and wonders are allowed to occur. These apostates have false prophets who can work false miracles and false signs. They have the help of fallen angels in their evil version of religion. Those who deliberately and knowingly accept the abomination of desolation (a perverse imitation of the holy Eucharist) are committing an actual mortal sin. Those who accept this religion and its false Eucharist lose grace and faith. Thus, they become the prey of fallen angels and of the false ministers of this perverse religion. Just as the true Eucharist strengthens the faithful in holiness, so does the abomination of desolation strengthen the faithless in evil-doing. For by willingly and knowingly receiving the abomination, with its associated false religion, they are abandoning both the state of grace and their own faith, putting them under the influence of devils.

This perverse imitation of that Most Blessed Sacrament is usually received by them during their perverse imitation of the holy Mass. They alter the Mass to an extreme degree, promoting evil, and rejecting the truths of the Bible, and permitting all manner of unfit persons to have leadership during this ritual. They commit mortal sins during this ritual, which barely resembles the Mass at all.

5. The Abomination during the 2010's

The abomination of desolation has roots as old as the Christian faith itself, for heresy and apostasy have been with the Church almost from its inception. In fact, the wine mixed with gall, which was put to the lips of Christ during the Crucifixion, was a foreshadowing of the abomination of desolation, which will be put to the lips of the Church during the tribulation. Now the abomination of desolation has its inception any time heresy or apostasy reaches the point where those claiming to consecrate the Eucharist are not validly consecrating the bread and wine. But it reaches its height only during the tribulation, which is divided into two parts.

The abomination rises to prominence three times:

(1) during the great apostasy of the 21st century, which begins after the reign of Pope Benedict XVI, during and after the reign of the next Pope (who is called Peter the Roman by Saint Malachy), which is during the first part of the tribulation.

(2) at the start of the Antichrist's reign, when the Christian king of the South and the Pope of that time are killed.

(3) during the last half of the Antichrist's reign, when the Antichrist decides to support these apostates and to use his power to actively promote the abomination of desolation in order to destroy the Church from within.

The first part of the tribulation is a reflection of the second part of the tribulation. Each part has a great apostasy and the abomination. But the second part of the tribulation (beginning with the Antichrist's reign) is more severe than the first part; so also is the apostasy and abomination more severe in the second part.

The first time that the abomination rises to prominence is during the great apostasy of the 2010's.

It is already clear to devout Catholics (as I write this in 2005) that most who call themselves Catholic do not believe what the Church teaches. Most Catholics at the present time do not believe in the real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, do not believe the moral teachings of the Church on many issues, do not believe in the infallibility of Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the Sacred Magisterium. The roots of the great apostasy are clearly visible, like a great tree whose roots are partially above ground. But Catholics such as these still call themselves Catholic, some still attend Mass, some even try to argue that the Church should change to become more like them.

Pope Benedict XVI, the current Pope, is given the task by God to be a peace-maker. Of course, he will not abandon any of the teachings of the Church. But his enforcement of true belief and practice will be mild. His reign is the last chance for these heretics to return to the fullness of the faith.

The next Pope is called Peter the Roman by Saint Malachy. He is called Peter the Roman because he will emphasize that each Pope is the successor to the Apostle Peter, and because he will emphasize the primacy of the Roman Catholic faith over other religions and denominations, and because he will emphasize the authority of the Roman Pontiff over the whole Church, and because, for a limited time, the popes after him will not reign from Rome.

Now during the reign of Peter the Roman, this great Pope insists that those who call themselves Catholic actually believe and practice what the Catholic Church teaches. He insists on true belief in the real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. His insistence on this belief, and also his insistence that those who receive the Eucharist also believe and practice what the Church teaches, is the reason that so many persons leave the Catholic faith. The requirement to believe and practice the Faith in order to receive the Eucharist drives very many persons away from the Faith altogether. Most Catholics do not believe in the real Presence, so they are not willing to give up their sins in order to continue to receive the Eucharist. Thus the great apostasy centers around the Eucharist, just as the true Faith centers around the Eucharist.

This rejection of the Faith because of the truth about the Eucharist is foreshadowed in the Gospel of John, in chapter 6, where Jesus teaches about His real Presence in the Eucharist and many then leave Him because of this teaching. The following quote is from the RSV:

{6:53} So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you;
{6:54} he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
{6:55} For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
{6:56} He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
{6:57} As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.
{6:58} This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.”
{6:59} This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
{6:60} Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”
{6:61} But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, “Do you take offense at this?
{6:62} Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before?
{6:63} It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
{6:64} But there are some of you that do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him.
{6:65} And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father”
{6:66} After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him.

Notice that it is in chapter and verse 6:66 that many of his disciples commit apostasy. This teaching by Jesus about the Eucharist caused a foreshadowing of the great apostasy (that will reach its height during the last half of the Antichrist's reign). If many disciples left Christ when He was teaching in person on earth, because of this teaching of the Eucharist, then so also will many leave during the first and second parts of the tribulation. For during each of those times, the Church will reaffirm its teaching about the Eucharist and require correct believe and practice in order to receive the Eucharist. There will also be groups of heretics and apostates who promote a false Mass and a false Eucharist, i.e. the abomination.

The great apostasy of the 21st century begins when Pope Peter the Roman requires those who receive the Eucharist to adhere to true Catholic beliefs and practices. Then very many Catholics leave the faith. Some try to develop and practice a badly-altered version of the Catholic faith; some leave Christianity behind altogether; some go to the Protestant churches, but soon leave them as well. About the same time, many Protestants also leave the Christian faith. Their leaders reaffirm the necessity of believing what the Bible teaches, in contradiction to many of the teachings of sinful secular society. Many reject this teaching and so they leave the Protestant churches as well.

Near the end of his reign, Pope Peter the Roman will be captured in war (in 2012, during World War 3, by the Arab forces); he will be blinded and sent to a prison in Iraq, where he will later die. Meanwhile, the Arab forces capture Rome, and they desecrate and burn the churches there. The Allies later retake the city. Then, in July of 2013, the Arab forces will strike Vatican City and Rome with a nuclear missile, destroying Vatican City. After that event, subsequent Popes will not reign from Rome, until after the year 2039.

The Effect of the Warning on the Great Apostasy

The Warning, also called the Illumination, occurs during the reign of Pope Benedict XVI. This event spurs many Christians to repentance and to an increase in holiness. The Church becomes holier as a result.

However, some persons react to the Warning by rejecting repentance, burying themselves in self-indulgences. Those who desire to continue in their sins leave the Church in reaction to the Warning or in reaction to the Church's subsequent increase in holiness.

The Warning, and the resultant increase in holiness, influences many leaders of the Church to require members to believe the truths of the Faith and to act accordingly. The Warning has a lasting effect on the Church, profoundly influencing the election and the pontificate of Peter the Roman.

Even some leaders in the Church reject the call to repentance and leave the Faith altogether, joining in the great apostasy. They too reject this increase in holiness and its strong affirmation of Catholic Christian truths. They are immersed in the contradictions and falsehoods of sinful secular society. The great apostasy will include members of religious orders, priests, and even some Bishops and Cardinals. The Church will undergo a time of rapid change. Those leaders of the Church with secret sins will be secretly terrified.

An Increase in Apostasy and in the Abomination

When Pope Peter the Roman requires those receiving the Eucharist to believe and practice the Catholic Faith, some persons, who call themselves Catholic, try to severely alter the Catholic religion according to their own ideas. They make increasing alterations in the Mass, the consecration of the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Holy Orders, and other Sacraments, prayers, devotions, etc. They quickly reach a point where their consecration is not valid and their faith is non-existent. Their perverse imitation of the Mass gives rise to their perverse imitation of the Eucharist, which is the abomination.

The apostasy and the abomination increase during Pope Peter the Roman's reign, especially in reaction to two events: when Peter the Roman is captured during World War 3, and again when Vatican City and Rome are struck by a nuclear missile sent by the Arab forces. The capture of the Pope in war (2012) seems to these apostates like a validation of their apostasy. The destruction of Vatican City by a nuclear missile (July of 2013) seems to these apostates like a further validation of their apostasy. Thus, the apostasy and the abomination reach their height about 2012 and 2013.

A Decrease in the Apostasy and the Abomination

The failure of these groups, who try to practice a severely-altered version of the Catholic religion has a number of causes. First, they fail because they no longer have a valid Eucharist, which is the food of faith and holiness. Second, they fail because they no longer accept the guidance of Tradition, Scripture, Magisterium. Third, they fail because, having built their house on sand, they cannot withstand the afflictions of the tribulation. Fourth, they fail because, without the negative influence of these apostates, true faithful Christians within the true Catholic Church increase in holiness. This holiness is a stark contrast to their own sinfulness. Fifth, they fail because the Protestants that remained faithful to their beliefs increase in holiness to the point where they understand that they must repent and convert and join the Catholic Church. The true Church is restructured, according to God's plan, in the early 2020's, to have seven divisions within unity. This restructured unified Catholic Christian Church will shine with great holiness, putting those few apostates who remain to utter shame and disgrace. Then, in the early 2030's, a great Ecumenical Council will confirm the validity of unification and of the restructuring of the Church.

6. The Abomination before and during the Antichrist's reign

The Reign of the Ten Kings

Prior to the Antichrist's reign, the world will become divided into ten groups of nations ruled by ten leaders. Thus the whole world will be under the power of ten kings only. This reign of the ten kings begins during the 24th century (the 2300's A.D.). While some of these 'kings' will be despots or monarchs, others will be nominally democratic leaders (elected, but with excessive power). These ten kingdoms will all be very sinful. Their laws will permit, encourage, or even require all manner of serious sin in society. They will obtain a kind of false peace, which is an exterior-only peace brought about by severities in law enforcement, by excessively harsh punishments, and by a sinful permissiveness that does not count as a crime many acts that are certainly crimes against humanity and against God. There will also be little or no war, except between the kingdom of the North (Europe) and the kingdom of the South (Israel, Middle East, northern Africa).

As time passes, each of the ten kingdoms will reject Christianity in some manner. Some will outlaw the Faith altogether, with harsh penalties and unfair trials (if there are trials at all) for believers. Some will reduce the place of Christianity in society by means of laws that make it very difficult to live by the Christian Faith. Some will ridicule the Christian Faith by means of their culture and in their news and entertainment shows. Some will do all of these things. The result, after some length of time, will be that Christianity will be outlawed or severely oppressed in nine of the ten kingdoms.

The only one of the ten kingdoms that permits and tolerates Christianity will be the kingdom of the South. This kingdom was formerly the southern most kingdom of the great Catholic monarch; it includes Israel, the Middle East, and northern Africa. This kingdom will be sinful and secularized and self-indulgent, like the others. But at least Christianity will be legal and Christians will have some protections under the law. This kingdom will also have many Muslims and Jews, who will, to one extent or another, defend the right of Christians to worship.

During the time of the ten kings, among the three religions, Islam will be most widespread and will have the most adherents worldwide. Judaism will be a distant second. Christianity will be third. But the number of Christians will be difficult to ascertain, because many Christians will keep their faith secret, in order to survive.

Islam will be the most widespread and popular of the three, partly because Muslims, over time, accommodate their beliefs to secular society. People will be able to be a Muslim and worship God, with less possibility of offense against human laws and with less persecution. The Jewish faith also, but to a lesser extent, will accommodate their beliefs to the culture and society around them. But the heart of the Christian Faith will stand firm against the errors of culture and society.

At that time, although there will be heretics and dissenters from the Christian Faith, there will be only one Christian Church, the one holy Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic Christian faith will have its center of authority in Rome, but its center of worship in Jerusalem. Rome will be a very sinful city. Jerusalem will have its sinfulness at that time, but will be more holy than any other city on earth, and it will be shared by Muslims, Jews, and Christians. The Catholic Faith will be able to stand firm against the errors of modern society because the Church has the triple infallibility of Tradition, Scripture, Magisterium. But, as a result of not accommodating itself to sinful secular society, the Catholic way of living will become more and more distant from the secular way of living. Catholics will become marginalized and ostracized from society in general. As a result, there will be few persons devout and brave enough to adhere fully to the Catholic faith in that time period.

Serious sin and severe heresy will be present within the Church at that time. The 23rd chapter of Matthew's Gospel refers to the Church during the 2300's. When Jesus says “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees!” He is speaking especially to those Christian leaders of that future time, who will behave like the scribes and Pharisees. Many of the leaders of the Church, many Bishops and Cardinals, as well as the scholars and theologians, will be like the scribes and Pharisees. They will be faithless, or will have many secret serious sins, or will have hidden heresies, or hidden malice. But the teaching of the Church will remain pure and holy and true, despite the failings and perverse efforts of the scribes and Pharisees of that time.

Apostasy, the departure of many Christians from the Faith altogether, will occur, in that time period, over the course of many years. As the world becomes more sinful, it becomes more difficult to live as a Christian in a sinful world. The number of Christians in the world diminishes severely from the start of the time of the ten kings, up to the time of the Antichrist's reign.

The abomination of desolation will be present during that time. The influence of sinful society will cause many who call themselves Catholic to desire to ordain women and to desire to make many changes in the Sacraments and in the teachings of the Church. Persons who go astray from the faith in this manner cannot be prevented from doing whatever they choose, because at that time the leaders of secular society, even within the kingdom of the South, have a callous or even openly-hostile attitude toward the Catholic Church and its teachings. Therefore, such persons will be free to pervert the Mass and to set up a perverse imitation of the Blessed Sacrament. They will claim to ordain women as priests and bishops, they will claim that those men ordained by women are priests, they will alter all the Sacraments until they become invalid, and they will encourage and approve of all manner of sin. And then it gets worse.

The Antichrist and the Christian King of the South

In the late 24th century (the late 2300's), the Antichrist will be born and raised in the kingdom of the South, in the region of Assyria. In the Old Testament, the Antichrist is often called the Assyrian, or Assur (the name of an ancient false god of the Assyrians). The father of the Antichrist will be a very sinful Catholic Bishop. The mother of the Antichrist will be a very sinful Catholic Nun (who falsely claims to be a virgin). This situation is fitting because the Antichrist is the offspring of the serious sins of Catholics. If Catholics avoided all objective mortal sin, there could be no Antichrist.

The Antichrist will be born in the South, but he cannot succeed in that kingdom because there are too many Muslims, Jews, and Christians, who all devoutly worship the One True God. So he moves to the kingdom of the North, disguising his origins (because the South and North had been at war for generations).

At first, the Antichrist has little or no interest in the Catholic Faith. For the Antichrist seeks power and self-exaltation, but Catholics will have little power and influence in that time. Eventually, the Antichrist obtains a position of leadership in the North. But he is a leader will little power, for their system of government will be complex, involving many different leaders at many levels. Other kingdoms of the ten kingdoms will have either despots, or monarchs, or elected leaders, each with much more power than the Antichrist has at first as king of the North.

Then the Antichrist will fight, using deception, betrayals, murder, and open warfare, to obtain a much larger degree of control over the kingdom of the North. But he is not yet so powerful as to be able to do or say whatever he will. He does not yet openly proclaim himself to be a god (but only secretly). After consolidating his power in the kingdom of the North, the Antichrist seeks to increase his power by taking control of another kingdom.

Because the North and the South had been at war for generations, they had developed the strongest, largest, most experienced, and best equipped militaries in the world. The Antichrist makes war against the kingdom of the South for a number of reasons. He covets the power of their military, which is about as strong as that of the North. He does not have absolute power over the North, so he must convince others to go to war against the South. Since the North and the South had been at war for generations (see Daniel 11), he can more easily obtain support for a war against the South. And, the kingdom of the South is his own natural enemy, because there are more Christians, Jews, and Muslims there than anywhere else in the world.

At that time, the king of the South, surprisingly, will be a Christian. He will practice the Catholic Christian faith, but he is far from being holy or devout. The Antichrist prepares a war against the Christian king of the South. When the war begins (in 2430 A.D.), the South has the advantage in numbers, allies, defenses, weapons, etc. But the Antichrist wins by means of betrayal in high places within the government and military of the South. Even some of those close to the king of the South betray him. Thus, the Antichrist will obtain control over the militaries of both the North and the South without the many battles that would have weakened both armies.

The Antichrist then seeks more power. He controls the two most powerful kingdoms of the ten kingdoms. He covets the next two most powerful kingdoms: the one in Africa (excepting the northern part) and the one in the East (China, etc.). These kingdoms were formerly (in the 2200's) the dominant power and militaries in the world. They realize that the Antichrist is now a threat to them. They attempt to defeat him by means of deceitful negotiations and betrayals. But the Antichrist is far more adept at deceit, treachery, and betrayal than they are. He defeats both of these two kings (2430/2431 A.D.) and he puts them to death. The Antichrist then control the four most powerful kingdoms in the world, and their militaries. The other six kingdoms realize that, even if they join forces, they cannot defeat these four kingdoms joined together. So they agree to whatever the Antichrist asks of them. What he asks is absolute power for himself, obedience from them, and the abolishment of all religion except that related to him.

This kingdom now has ten positions of kingship (ten horns), but only seven leaders. The Antichrist directly controls four of the ten, which have the strongest militaries. And the other six leaders are obedient to him. This is the beast with seven heads and ten horns described by the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation.

The Antichrist is able to defeat the other kingdoms by the assistance of fallen angels, including Satan. The Antichrist benefits from the assistance of these fallen angels. They influence sinful people to accept the Antichrist's offers to the betray their kingdoms and their associates. The fallen angels know which key leaders have hidden sins and which key leaders are most easily influenced to fit the Antichrist's evil plans. They also give the Antichrist information that he could not obtain otherwise, better than any government's intelligence organization. The Antichrist is described as a 'horn with eyes' (Dan 7:20) for that very reason, that he has the help of the knowledge of various fallen angels.

The Antichrist also has the help of advanced technology. He uses the technology of that future time period to his advantage, more so than other leaders. He keeps this technology to himself, for use by his government, not for use by the general population. Thus, he has technology that is not generally known to the public. (All the governments of the ten kings were very secretive, since these governments often commit many secret crimes and sins. They also develop technology and do not disclose it to the public.)

Understand that the success of the Antichrist is permitted by the Providence of God. It must be so, for the Church must suffer her Crucifixion, just as her Lord suffered His Crucifixion. It cannot be otherwise. Those who are to die martyrs, will die martyrs; those who are to be persecuted and suffer, will be persecuted and suffer.

During the first half of the Antichrist's reign

Religion and religious worship are prohibited worldwide during the first half of the Antichrist's reign of nearly seven years. The apostasy increases, because now Christians are severely persecuted, or arrested and imprisoned. Many persons had previously left the Faith, during the reign of the ten kings, but now even more persons abandon the Christian Faith. The last Pope before the Return of Christ was killed at the end of the brief war of 2430 A.D. And there is no longer an institutional structure to the Church. The spiritual structure of the Church remains, with Bishops, priests, deacons, religious, and laypersons. But there is little or no external organization left. The church buildings have all been closed, or desecrated, or converted to secular use, or destroyed.

Most of those who remain with the Catholic Christian Faith, worshipping in secret, are holy and faithful. Yet a few of those who remain with the Church, in its hidden worship, are nevertheless dishonest, deceitful, unfaithful, and have hidden serious sins. Recall that even though the first Christians were persecuted and had little power or influence over secular society, they still had their Judas Iscariots among them.

Over the centuries that passed from the time of the great Catholic monarch's reign to the time of the Antichrist's reign, the world gradually increased in sinfulness, while the Church gradually increased in holiness. The world became exceedingly sinful and wicked beyond measure, and this is what prepares and allows for the arrival of the Antichrist. But the true and faithful members of the Church became holier and holier through the centuries. Now many leaders of the Church during the 2300's (24th century A.D.) will be very sinful and faithless. But the true faithful, those humble, prayerful, lowly followers of Christ within the Catholic Church, will become holier and holier until their holiness eclipses that of the Saints, and their wisdom and knowledge exceeds that of the Doctors and Fathers of the Church. First among these are the First Fruits.

The First Fruits (Rev 14:1-5) live during the time of the ten kings and during the time of the Antichrist's reign. They are devout Catholic Christians who are so holy that, despite having original sin, they have never committed the least personal sin in their entire lives. There are many such persons throughout the world at that time. They are as holy as John the Baptist, who also had original sin, and who also never committed any personal sins at all. Just as John the Baptist preceded the arrival of Christ, so will these First Fruits precede the Return of Christ. They are like John the Baptist in that, when the Antichrist is defeated, but before Christ returns, they will preach repentance to the whole world to prepare for Christ.

“And he will return to his land with many resources. And his heart will be against the holy testament, and he will act, and he will return to his own land.” (Daniel 11:28).

The Antichrist defeats two more kings after the king of the South. Then the Antichrist returns to his own land, the kingdom of the North (Europe). His reign over nearly the whole world begins and his heart will be against the holy testament, that is the Faith of the Catholic Church. He will forbid all worship, including Christian, Jewish, and Muslim worship. He will make laws that are particularly hostile to Catholics. However, he will need to consolidate his power worldwide and he will need to direct his forces against various rebellions worldwide. So, during the first half of his reign, he focuses less attention on Christians and more attention on gaining power and on exalting himself as if he were a god. His claim to be a god increases gradually during this time. He does not yet have the assistance of the false prophet, who helps him convince people to worship him. For he is skillful and successful in worldly endeavors, particularly politics, finance, government, and warfare, but he is not as clever in religious matters. He attempts, during the first half of his reign, to use force to obtain followers and worshippers.

During the Second Half of the Antichrist's reign

The book of Daniel describes a battle, about halfway through the Antichrist's reign of nearly seven years, which he loses. This is his first and only significant military loss.

{11:29} At the appointed time, he will return, and he will approach the South, but the latter time will not be like the former.
{11:30} And the Greek warships and the Romans will come upon him, and he will be pierced, and will retreat, and will have scorn against the testament of the sanctuary, and he will act. And he will return and will consult their adversaries, who have forsaken the covenant of the sanctuary.
{11:31} And arms will take his side, and they will pollute the sanctuary of the strength, and they will take away the continual sacrifice and will replace it with the abomination of desolation.

The appointed time is about halfway through the nearly seven years of the Antichrist's reign. The South is the kingdom of the South, which still has the highest concentration of faithful Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the world. These resist the Antichrist and continue to worship the one true God. After he has consolidated his power worldwide, he decides to finally put an end to the resistance of these faithful ones.

And so the Antichrist gathers a huge fleet of warships and immense military resources. He plans to attack these Christians, Jews, and Muslims who have been worshipping in secret. He had previously gathered information about their activities, without doing much in response, waiting for the right time to strike. These religious persons have successfully defied or eluded local authorities. They have little or no weapons; they have no military to oppose the Antichrist. And he brings a huge force against them. What he plans is not a battle, but a massacre. He boasts about it to the whole world, even permitting his attack to be televised live. He even joins the lead ships, to personally direct the massacre.

But it will not be this time as it was with all his previous battles. Greek warships, that is, warships from an area of the world that was formerly democratic, manned by Romans, that is, by Roman Catholics, will come against him unexpectedly. These Roman Catholics have obtained a relatively small number of ships by borrowing, or stealing, or by getting permission only at a very low level. But they have a new weapon that can pierce the Antichrist's defenses.

Now the Antichrist has a huge and very powerful fleet. He certainly could defeat this much smaller force, despite their new weapon, by bringing all of his force against them at once. But as ships begin to go down around him, he fears for his own life. In the sight of the whole world, he turns tail and runs away like a coward. There is not a soldier in the world, good or evil, who would approve of such a retreat and such a loss in battle merely to preserve the life of one man. The Antichrist is publicly humiliated and his claims to be a god are severely damaged.

When he finds out that the ships were manned by Roman Catholics, he is enraged beyond words at the Catholics of the world. But he can no longer go around the world using mere military force to keep control and to put down rebellion. So he consults with “their adversaries, who have forsaken the covenant,” in other words, he consults with apostates and severe heretics from the Catholic faith. He finds out from them about the Eucharist and the Mass, which is the center of worship in the Faith. He also learns from them that they want to set up their own severely-altered version of the Catholic faith.

The Antichrist then decides to try to destroy the Church from within, by making it legal for these apostates and heretics to openly practice their perverse version of Catholicism. He give them control of church buildings and he alters laws, customs, and culture in order to support their ideas. In exchange, they take the last step in the perverse progression of their apostasy: they agree to worship and promote the worship of the Antichrist. They set up the abomination of desolation in the tabernacles of these churches. The abomination is now supported by the Antichrist, and his government and laws worldwide. Now the perversity of the abomination of desolation is in full bloom, reaching a degree of severity not seen in previous versions of the abomination.

The Antichrist allows these apostates and severe heretics to elect an antipope. They choose a woman to be their antipope. She is the false prophet described in the Book of Revelation. Just as Christ is assisted in all that he does for our salvation by the Virgin Mary, the Antichrist will be assisted by the false prophet, who is a false virgin. The false Catholics who elect her with the approval of the Antichrist agree, along with her, to worship the Antichrist as the Messiah. Now the claim by the Antichrist to be a god reaches its height. This is the last step in the perverse progression of wickedness by these apostates and heretics. Before, they changed all manner of teachings from the holy teachings of the Church into teachings that conformed to the wickedness of the world. But now they even exceed the wickedness of the world, by using their antipope to proclaim, supposedly infallibly, that the Antichrist is the Messiah.

The false prophet helps the Antichrist by convincing the world to worship him, by means of this perverse version of Catholicism. They have the help of fallen angels and false prophets, who together work false signs and miracles. They use technology also to produce false signs and wonders. She assists the Antichrist, who before was unsuccessful in convincing the world to worship him. He had tried to force the world to worship him with threats and violence, but was largely unsuccessful. She now uses a new approach, derived from a perverse version of Catholicism. She uses a perverse theological explanations, and false prophets working false signs and wonders, in order to convince the world that the Antichrist is a god. Instead of using military force, they change the laws and the very culture of the world to support the abomination and their apostate version of Catholicism.

True Catholic Christians, Jews, and Muslims are not fooled at all. The Catholics know that a woman can never be validly ordained as a bishop and that a woman can never be validly elected as Pope. They know the teachings of the Church throughout the ages about the Antichrist; they recognize that he is that evil Antichrist long predicted and often described in Catholic writings. Faithful Jews and Muslims also recognize that this man is evil and that this woman is not a leader of religion, as she claims.

The last half of the Antichrist's reign is also the time of the two prophets described in Revelation chapter 11, who are often called Enoch and Elijah. They prophesy to the whole world against the false teachings of the Antichrist and the false prophet (the antipope). They perform truly miraculous signs and wonders; they afflict the world, or any part of the world, with what ever sufferings they choose, by a few words of prayer to Jesus the true Christ. They are unstoppable. The Antichrist and the false prophet can do nothing against these two true prophets, until the end of their 1260 days of prophesying.

The two prophets, Enoch and Elijah, pray to God and obtain a particular affliction for the whole world during the time of their prophesying: a worldwide drought lasting for approximately three and one half years. Just as the worldwide flood of Noah marked the end of one time and the beginning of another, so also, at this time, a worldwide drought marks the latter part of the Antichrist's reign. There will be little or no rain over the entire earth for the last half of the Antichrist's reign. How then can he claim to be a god, if he cannot even make it rain?

At the end of their prophesying, God allows their enemies to kill Enoch and Elijah. The people of the world then refuse to allow them to be buried. These two had afflicted them with so many chastisements for their sins that people just want to watch their dead bodies lie in the streets. They watch on whatever the 25th century equivalent is of live 24-hour television news. During those three and one half days, all kinds of false things are said against the two prophets. They say that the death of the two prophets proves that they are false. They boast about the Antichrist and the false prophet, using the deaths of the two prophets to try to exalt these other two with lies.

7. The End of the Abomination and the Apostasy

Then, after 3.5 days, God raises the two prophets from the dead and assumes them into Heaven. The whole world watches these two prophets rise from the dead and go up to Heaven. These two had been prophesying for 3.5 years to the whole world against the Antichrist and the false prophet, and in favor of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. Now the Antichrist's claim to be a god is severely undermined. The false prophet also has lost her credibility. Now the apostasy begins to turn around; people begin to consider returning to the true Faith. The false Mass and false Eucharist of the false prophet loses its appeal.

The Antichrist and the false prophet try to form a plan to regain the trust of the people. They decide that the only way is to attempt a faked ascension to Heaven. About 30 days after the assumption of the two prophets, they are ready to put their plan into action. They attempt this false ascension with the help of technology (and perhaps fallen angels). They try to get the whole world to watch, but people are skeptical. When the Antichrist rises up into the sky, the Archangel Michael smothers him and throws him down to the ground in the sight of the whole world. The Antichrist is severely wounded, but he never dies.

Now the Antichrist and the false prophet, and all the lies that they have told the world, have lost their credibility. The kingdom of the Antichrist falls apart. People will not obey any of the leaders that he installed and supported. The faithful, especially the First Fruits, go out into the world to preach the Gospel. Many people repent of their sins and are converted. The holy Catholic Church can now worship openly. Some few of the people who led the apostasy try to continue their ways, but they are in the process of being defeated by the preaching of the truth. Very many people are abandoning these false religious leaders. The abomination of desolation is in severe decline. People reject and abandon the teachings of the false prophet and her false worship. The faithful can now practice true worship, in the holy Mass and the true Eucharist, openly. Although many of the wicked still refuse to repent, most have abandoned the false version of Catholicism promoted by the false prophet.

Christ returns in the year 2437 A.D., with the Virgin Mary. At that point in time, the Antichrist is severely wounded, but not dead. The false prophet is still alive; she has secular followers and supporters, but her religious followers have decreased severely. The general population no longer believes her false preaching. Those who followed the Antichrist and the false prophet are given time to repent after Christ returns. The First Fruits and other members of the faithful preach and teach and make many converts. The Rosary and the Virgin Mary are important to winning converts during this time.

Notice that when Christ returns, with Mary, that He does not use sheer power to defeat evil. He allows time for repentance, despite the great evils committed. He gives a role to the faithful to help convert their fellow man. The tools of his war against evil are prayer and self-denial and works of mercy. He does not, as some have imagined, return to cause an immediate judgment and destruction of the world. When Christ returns, with Mary, He teaches and preaches and blesses and forgives. But when Christ returns, He does not replace the Bishops and Priests with Himself. He acts through ordained persons in the Church. He acts through the Church and the Sacraments. He does not say Mass, because He is already present at every Mass. There is vast conversion and repentance, especially through the Rosary and the Eucharist.

Despite the Return of Christ with Mary, and the many true miracles and signs from God, and the preaching of the sinless First Fruits (who have original sin, but no personal sins whatsoever), many wicked persons refuse to repent. And so Christ sends the Seven Bowls of God's Wrath upon only the unrepentant wicked. Many of the wicked are killed by these severe afflictions.

But those who survive realize that they can no longer convince most people to follow them willingly, or to believe their lies, or to choose evil over good. So they finally gather to make war against Jerusalem, the holy city, the center of true worship for the whole world. But there is no war or battle, for God destroys them directly.

“And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to make war with him that sat upon the horse and with his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who wrought signs before him, wherewith he seduced them who received the character of the beast and who adored his image. These two were cast alive into the pool of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were slain by the sword of him that sits upon the horse, which proceeds out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh. (Rev. 19:19-21).

Then Christ establishes His kingdom on earth. He raises from the dead, in the first Resurrection, those who died as martyrs during the Antichrist's reign, and probably also martyrs and Saints from other time periods. Then Jesus Christ ascends to Heaven (Second Ascension) and Mary is assumed into Heaven (Second Assumption). Next, Christ sends the Holy Spirit (Second Pentecost), this time on the whole world.

Now begins the Millennium of peace and holiness, when Christ reigns, not in the flesh, but in the Eucharist, and in the other Sacraments, and through Tradition, Scripture, Magisterium.

The Millennium continues for well over a thousand years.

Then the events of Revelation 20:7-9 occur: a rebellion against all that is holy; but the rebels are destroyed by God. And sometime after that: The General Resurrection of the just and unjust. And then God takes away Heaven and Purgatory and Earth and Hell. And God makes a new Heaven and a new Earth and a new Hell. But Purgatory is no longer needed “...and death shall be no more.” (Rev. 21:4). And after that who knows?


by Ronald L. Conte Jr.
December 23, 2005