Comment-A good friend of mine (a recent convert) recently had an exchange with me, stating he thought-as a partial preterist-that the events of Mt 24, etc were in the past, happening in the OT and the fall of Jerusalem. I noted that Mt 24, etc, entailed the events of 70 AD, but also, it was future prophecy as well. Scripture is often laden w/multiple meanings and not one sided. I sent him several comemnts of Church leaders, etc.  A few days wlater, he rather self-confidently and triumphantly stated " I still do not believe in a future antichrist". He went on to express strong aversion to Marian apparitions, private Prohecy, etc. He continues to listen to mostly non-Catholic sources and tends to ignore Church sources. What do the post-fall of Jerusalem Fathers say? Well:

I :FATHERS

The whole time of your faith will not profit you unless you are made complete in the last time. For in the last days false prophets and corrupters shall be multiplied, and sheep shall be turned into wolves . . . and then shall the deceiver of the world appear, pretending to be the Son of God, and [he] shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands"

Didache 16:3-4

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0714.htm

COMMENT-Note the language, it is for a time in the future as well, not just the past!.The Didache was written on or about 100 AD-long aqfter Jerusalem's fall. Though there were some at the time and after Bar Kokhba's revolt that proclaimed themselves-or were proclaimed Messiah, they did not "deceive the whole world" as alluded to above and in the other writings of the Fathers and the language of the Bible. In 70 AD and in 132 AD, most of the world was not goverened by Rome, nor was the Gospel worldwide.

1. And not only by the particulars already mentioned, but also by means of the events which shall occur in the time of Antichrist is it shown that he, being an apostate and a robber, is anxious to be adored as God; and that, although a mere slave, he wishes himself to be proclaimed as a king. For he (Antichrist) being endued with all the power of the devil, shall come, not as a righteous king, nor as a legitimate king, [i.e., one] in subjection to God, but an impious, unjust, and lawless one; as an apostate, iniquitous and murderous; as a robber, concentrating in himself [all] satanic apostasy, and setting aside idols to persuade [men] that he himself is God, raising up himself as the only idol, having in himself the multifarious errors of the other idols. This he does, in order that they who do [now] worship the devil by means of many abominations, may serve himself by this one idol, of whom the apostle thus speaks in the second Epistle to the Thessalonians: "Unless there shall come a failing away first, and the man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he sits in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God." The apostle therefore clearly points out his apostasy, and that he is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped—that is, above every idol —for these are indeed so called by men, but are not [really] gods; and that he will endeavour in a tyrannical manner to set himself forth as God.

Comment-Did the Jews in 70 AD-or 132 AD-set up Idols as described above? Nope, maybe Rome, but not the Jews.Were they "apsotates", nope, not that either.

3. Daniel too, looking forward to the end of the last kingdom, i.e., the ten last kings, amongst whom the kingdom of those men shall be partitioned, and upon whom the son of perdition shall come, declares that ten horns shall spring from the beast, and that another little horn shall arise in the midst of them, and that three of the former shall be rooted up before his face. He says: "And, behold, eyes were in this horn as the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things, and his look was more stout than his fellows. I was looking, and this horn made war against the saints, and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of days came and gave judgment to the saints of the most high God, and the time came, and the saints obtained the kingdom." Daniel 7:8, etc. Then, further on, in the interpretation of the vision, there was said to him: "The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall excel all other kingdoms, and devour the whole earth, and tread it down, and cut it in pieces. And its ten horns are ten kings which shall arise; and after them shall arise another, who shall surpass in evil deeds all that were before him, and shall overthrow three kings; and he shall speak words against the most high God, and wear out the saints of the most high God, and shall purpose to change times and laws; and [everything] shall be given into his hand until a time of times and a half time," Daniel 7:23, etc. that is, for three years and six months, during which time, when he comes, he shall reign over the earth. Of whom also the Apostle Paul again, speaking in the second [Epistle] to the Thessalonians, and at the same time proclaiming the cause of his advent, thus says: "And then shall the wicked one be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the spirit of His mouth, and destroy by the presence of His coming; whose coming [i.e., the wicked one's] is after the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and portents of lies, and with all deceivableness of wickedness for those who perish; because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And therefore God will send them the working of error, that they may believe a lie; that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but gave consent to iniquity,"

St. Irenaus Adversus Haereses (Book V, Chapter 25)http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103525.htm

4. The things then which are seen shall pass away, and there shall come the things which are looked for, things fairer than the present; but as to the time let no one be curious. For it is not for you, He says, to know times or seasons, which the Father has put in His own power Acts 1:7 . And venture not thou to declare when these things shall be, nor on the other hand supinely slumber. For he says, Watch, for in such an hour as you expect not the Son of Man comes. But since it was needful for us to know the signs of the end, and since we are looking for Christ, therefore, that we may not die deceived and be led astray by that false Antichrist, the Apostles, moved by the divine will, address themselves by a providential arrangement to the True Teacher, and say, Tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the world? We look for You to come again, but Satan transforms himself into an Angel of light; put us therefore on our guard, that we may not worship another instead of You. And He, opening His divine and blessed mouth, says, Take heed that no man mislead you. Do you also, my hearers, as seeing Him now with the eyes of your mind, hear Him saying the same things to you; Take heed that no man mislead you. And this word exhorts you all to give heed to what is spoken; for it is not a history of things gone by, but a prophecy of things future, and which will surely come.

Comment-future language by a writer more than centery after 70 AD. Here too, our writer states "but a prophecy of the future" and "not a history of things gone by"

7. But we seek our own sign of His coming; we Churchmen seek a sign proper to the Church. And the Saviour says, And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another Matthew 24:10 . If thou hear that bishops advance against bishops, and clergy against clergy, and laity against laity even unto blood, be not troubled; for it has been written before..

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310115.htm

http://www.catholic.com/library/The_Antichrist.asp

"Now as our Lord Jesus Christ, who is also God, was prophesied of under the figure of a lion, on account of his royalty and glory, in the same way have the scriptures also beforehand spoken of Antichrist as a lion, on account of his tyranny and violence. For the deceiver seeks to liken himself in all things to the Son of God. Christ is a lion, so Antichrist is also a lion. Christ is a king, so Antichrist is also a king. The Savior was manifested as a lamb, so he too in like manner will appear as a lamb without; within he is a wolf. The Savior came into the world in the circumcision [i.e., the Jewish race], and he will come in the same manner. . . . The Savior raised up and showed his holy flesh like a temple, and he will raise a temple of stone in Jerusalem"

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0516.htm

http://www.catholic.com/library/The_Antichrist.asp

Comment-again, a FUTURE EVENT, not just in relation to AD 70.

" e find it written regarding Antichrist . . . ‘Dan is a lion’s whelp, and he shall leap from Bashan’ [Deut. 33:22]. But that no one may err by supposing that this is said of the Savior, let him attend carefully to the matter. Dan, he says, is a lion’s whelp. And in naming the tribe of Dan, he declared clearly the tribe from which Antichrist is destined to spring. For as Christ springs from the tribe of Judah, so Antichrist is to spring from the tribe of Dan. And that the case stands thus, we see also from the words of Jacob: ‘Let Dan be a serpent, lying upon the ground, biting the horse’s heel’ [Gen. 49:17]. What then is meant by the serpent but Antichrist, that deceiver who is mentioned in Genesis [Gen. 3:1], who deceived Eve and supplanted Adam? . . . t is in reality out of the tribe of Dan, then, that tyrant and king, that dread judge, that son of the devil, is destined to spring and arise" (ibid., 14).
St Hippolytus The Antichrist 6 http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0516.htm

Comment-again, a future language.Not just Jeruslam's fall and the supposed Angelic activity my friend states were discussed.

"Above all, moreover, he will love the nation of the Jews. And with all these [Jews] he will work signs and terrible wonders, false wonders and not true, in order to deceive his impious equals. . . . And after that he will build the temple in Jerusalem and will restore it again speedily and give it over to the Jews"

St Hippolytus Discourse on the End of the World 23-25

http://www.catholic.com/library/The_Antichrist.asp

Comment-he will love the nation of the Jews. Did Rome do this?Definately not, nor did Antiochus Ephinus, etc.

"If they [the heretics] desire peace, let them lay aside their arms. If they make atonement, why do they threaten? Or if they threaten, let them know that they are not feared by God’s priests. For even Antichrist, when he shall begin to come, will not enter into the Church [even though] he threatens; neither shall we yield to his arms and violence, [though] he declares that he will destroy us if we resist"

"Daniel prophesies of the last judgment in such a way as to indicate that Antichrist shall first come and to carry on his destruction to the eternal reign of the saints. For when in prophetic vision he had seen four beasts, signifying four kingdoms, and the fourth conquered by a certain king, who is recognized as Antichrist, and after this the eternal kingdom of the Son of Man, that is to say, of Christ"

Comment-the kingdom of Christ is in the Church, but not in its eternal, perfected form. At the "close of the coming age", the Church age, Christ will come as he alludes to in Mt 13. Is the age done yet? Nope.

Although the Fathers of the Church speculated on the Antichrist in various ways, they would never have agreed. They showed the temple to be the Jewish temple, rebuilt by Antichrist in Jerusalem. Rather than the bishop of Rome, the early Fathers identified the Antichrist as a government official—a king coming to power in the ruins of the Roman Empire. He would probably be Jewish, possibly from the tribe of Dan. And most importantly, rather than claiming like the pope to be the vicar or emissary of Jesus Christ, he would claim that Jesus was not the Christ but that he was instead. He would then seduce many of the Jewish people by attempting to fulfill the political aspirations they held for the Messiah. The quotes that follow illustrate both the different ideas they had about the Antichrist and how different their conception was from the anti-papal idea that arose in later centuries.
Karl Keating http://www.catholic.com/library/The_Antichrist.asp

Nearly all commentators find Antichrist mentioned in the Apocalypse, but they do not agree as to the particular chapter of the Book in which the mention occurs. Some point to the "beast" of 11:7, others to the "red dragon" of Chapter 12, others again to the beast "having seven heads and ten horns" of 13, sqq., while many scholars identify Antichrist with the beast which had "two horns, like a lamb" and spoke "as a dragon" (13:11, sqq.), or with the scarlet-coloured beast "having seven heads and ten horns" (17), or, finally, with Satan "loosed out of his prison," and seducing the nations (20:7, sqq.). A detailed discussion of the reasons for and against each of these opinions would be out of place here.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01559a.htm

II MYSTICS:

Comment-the following I have also read in Yves Dupont's book, Father Gruner, etc

"These are evil times, a century full of dangers and calamities. Heresy is everywhere, and the followers of heresy are in power almost everywhere. Bishops, prelates, and priests say that they are doing their duty, that they are vigilant, and that they live as befits their state in life. In like manner, therefore, they all seek excuses. But God will permit a great evil against His Church: Heretics and tyrants will come suddenly and unexpectedly; they will break into the Church while bishops, prelates, and priests are asleep. They will enter Italy and lay Rome waste; they will burn down the churches and destroy everything."Venerable Bartholomew Holzhauser (17th century, Germany)

http://catholicprophecy.org/

Comment-sound familiar? Here is a "bishops against bishops", that Venerable Holzhauser and many, many others have predicted.

"The confusion will be so general that men will not be able to think aright, as if God had withheld His Providence from mankind, and that, during the worst crisis, the best that can be done would be to remain where God has placed us, and persevere in fervent prayers....At that time there will be such a terrible crisis that people will believe that the end of the world has come. Blood will flow in many large cities. The very elements will be convulsed. It will be like a little General Judgement."

"A great multitude of people will lose their lives in those calamitous times, but the wicked will not prevail. They will indeed attempt to destroy the whole Church, but not enough time will be allowed them, because the frightful crisis will be of short duration. When all is considered lost, all will be found safe. This disaster will come to pass shortly after the power of England begins to wane. This will be the sign. As when the fig tree begins to sprout and produce leaves, it is a sure sign that summer is near. England in her turn will experience a more frightful revolution than that of France. It will continue long enough for France to recover her strength; then she will help England to restore peace and order."

"During this revolution, which will very likely be general and not confined to France. Paris will be destroyed so completely that twenty years afterwards fathers walking over its ruins with their children will be asked by them what kind of place that was; to whom they will answer: 'My child, this was a great city which God has destroyed on account of her crimes." Fr .Nectou, S.J. (18th century)

http://catholicprophecy.org/

Comment-Sounds more like the calamity in the Bible then Jerusalem falling, no.

God will send two punishments: one will be in the form of wars, revolutions and other evils; it shall originate on earth. The other will be sent from Heaven. There shall come over the whole earth an intense darkness lasting three days and three nights. Nothing can be seen, and the air will be laden with pestilence which will claim mainly, but not only, the enemies of religion. It will be impossible to use any man-made lighting during this darkness, except blessed candles. He, who out of curiosity, opens his window to look out, or leaves his home, will fall dead on the spot. During these three days, people should remain in their homes, pray the Rosary and beg God for mercy."

"All the enemies of the Church, whether known or unknown, will perish over the whole earth during that universal darkness, with the exception of a few whom God will soon convert. The air shall be infected by demons who will appear under all sorts of hideous forms."

"Religion shall be persecuted, and priests massacred Churches shall be closed, but only for a short time. The Holy Father shall be obliged to leave Rome."

http://catholicprophecy.org/

Comment-at this point, my friend would likely roll his eyes, yet Anna Taigi was "praised by Pope Benedict XV in her beatification on May 20, 1920 as being an exemplary wife and mother amid poor and trying circumstances." If she was a kook, why is she Blessed? To answer, my friend often comes back with "well, that is not binding", which is true, esp w/private prophecy, but then, he doubts binding of the Cathechism too, but again, with so much weight of opinion, do we dare ignore it?Ignore Mary, who we shall see later?

"I saw one of my successors taking to flight over the bodies of his brethren. He will take refuge in disguise somewhere and after a short retirement he will die a cruel death. The present wickedness of the world is only the beginning of the sorrows which must take place before the end of the world."Pope (Saint) Pius X (20th century, Italy)

"The great monarch and the great Pope will precede Antichrist. The nations will be at war for four years and a great part of the world will be destroyed. The Pope will go over the sea carrying the sign of Redemption on his forehead. The great Monarch will come to restore peace and the Pope will share in the victory."
Abbot Werdin D'Orante (12th Century)

http://catholicprophecy.org/

Comment-did not the good Abbot get the message? There is no final time, antichrist, why? Because of private Biblical interpretation and Protestant scholars, etc. or, is there...

"In the 20th century there will be wars and fury that will last a long time; whole provinces shall be emptied of their inhabitants, and kingdoms shall be thrown into confusion. In many places the land shall be left untilled, and there shall be great slaughters of the upper class. The right hand of the world shall fear the left, and the north shall prevail over the south."Bishop Christianos Ageda (12th Century)

http://catholicprophecy.org/

The twentieth century will bring death and destruction, apostasy from the Church, discord in families, cities and governments; it will be the century of three great wars with intervals of a few decades. They will become ever more devastating and bloody and will lay in ruins not only Germany, but finally all countries of East and West. After a terrible defeat of Germany will follow the next great war. There will be no bread for people anymore and no fodder for animals. Poisonous clouds, manufactured by human hands, will sink down and exterminate everything. The human mind will be seized by insanity."
Maria Laach Monastery (16th Century)

http://catholicprophecy.org/

"Men will surrender to the spirit of the age. They will say that if they had lived in our day, faith would be simple and easy. But in their day, they will say, things are complex; the Church must be brought up to date and made meaningful to the day's problems. When the Church and the world are one, then those days are at hand."St. Antony the Abbot - Fourth Century

http://catholicprophecy.org/

Falsehood will characterize that class of men who will sit in judgment to pass sentence according to law: between the father and his son, litigations will subsist. The clergy of the holy church will be addicted to pride and injustice. Women will abandon feelings of delicacy, and cohabit with men out of wedlock."St. Senanus - Sixth Century

The crisis will come on all of a sudden and the Chastisement will be worldwide." Marie-Julie Jahenny - Nineteenth Century

http://catholicprophecy.org/

"Before the war breaks out again, food will be scarce and expensive. There will be little work for the workers, and fathers will hear their children crying for food. There will be earthquakes and signs in the sun. Toward the end, darkness will cover the earth. When everyone believes that peace is assured, when everyone least expects it, the great happening will begin. Revolution will break out in Italy almost at the same time as in France. For some time the Church will be without a Pope."
The Ecstatic of Tours - Nineteenth Century

http://catholicprophecy.org/

"All states will be shaken by war and civil conflict. During a darkness lasting three days the people given to evil ways will perish so that only one-fourth of mankind will survive."Sr. Mary of Jesus Crucified - Nineteenth Century

http://catholicprophecy.org/

Jesus - Mathew: 24 - Mount of Olives Prophecy

Jesus left the temple area and was going away, when his disciples approached him to point out the temple buildings.

He said to them in reply, "You see all these things, do you not? Amen, I say to you, there will not be left here a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."

As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately and said, "Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be of your coming, and of the end of the age?"

Jesus said to them in reply, "See that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Messiah,' and they will deceive many. You will hear of wars and reports of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for these things must happen, but it will not yet be the end.

"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place. All these are the beginning of the labor pains.

"Then they will hand you over to persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name.

"And then many will be led into sin; they will betray and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and deceive many; and because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come. When you see the desolating abomination spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, a person on the housetop must not go down to get things out of his house, a person in the field must not return to get his cloak.

"Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days. Pray that your flight not be in winter or on the sabbath, for at that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will be.

"And if those days had not been shortened, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect they will be shortened.

"If anyone says to you then, 'Look, here is the Messiah!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will arise, and they will perform signs and wonders so great as to deceive, if that were possible, even the elect.

"Behold, I have told it to you beforehand. So if they say to you, 'He is in the desert,' do not go out there; if they say, 'He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.

"For just as lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

"And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

"And he will send out his angels with a trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

"Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, know that he is near, at the gates.

"Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

"For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In (those) days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be (also) at the coming of the Son of Man.

"Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.

"Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.

"So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

"Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time?

"Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is long delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." http://catholicprophecy.org/

III: COMMENTARY:

 Bishop Challoner's comments on Mt 24-

28 "Wheresoever"... The coming of Christ shall be sudden, and manifest to all the world, like lightning: and wheresoever he shall come, thither shall all mankind be gathered to him, as eagles are gathered about a dead body.

29 "The stars"... Or flaming meteors resembling stars.

30 "The sign"... The cross of Christ.

35 "Shall pass"... Because they shall be changed at the end of the world into a new heaven and new earth.

Challoner on Mark 13-

32 "Nor the Son"... Not that the Son of God is absolutely ignorant of the day of judgment, but that he knoweth it not, as our teacher; that is, he knoweth it not so as to teach it to us, as not being expedient.

Source: DRBO.org

Haydock's Commentary on Mt 24-

 Ver. 3. Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the consummation of the world? We must take good notice with St. Jerome, that three questions are here joined together. 1. Concerning the destruction of Jerusalem; 2. of the coming of Christ; 3. of the end of the world. Christ's answers and predictions in this chapter, are to be expounded with a reference to the three questions. This hath not been considered by those interpreters; who expound every thing here spoken by Christ of the destruction of Jerusalem; nor by others, who will have all understood of his coming to judgment, and of the end of the world. (Witham) --- It is probable the apostles themselves did not understand that they were asking about two distinct events. Being filled with the idea of a temporal kingdom, they thought that Christ's second coming would take place soon; and that Jerusalem, once destroyed, the Messias would begin his reign on earth.

Ver. 4. And Jesus answering. Various are the interpretations given here. Some will have it refer to the destruction of Jerusalem, which took place, A.D. 70; and others, to the end of the world. That of St. Chrysostom seems to be very conformable to the context, and is followed by many. He explains all, to the 23d verse exclusively, of what shall precede the destruction of Jerusalem; nor is there any circumstance which cannot easily be referred to that event, as will appear from a careful and attentive observation of the history of the Jews, and of the Church at that time, in the writings of Josephus and Eusebius. Even the preaching of the gospel to the whole world, which seems to favour the contrary explanation, is by the same father said to have taken place before the destruction of Jerusalem. St. Paul tells the Colossians, that even in his time the faith was spread all over the world. The abomination of desolation may be explained of the Roman soldiery, or, of the seditious zealots, who, by their murders and other atrocities, polluted the temple. See Josephus, b. 4. and 5. of the Jewish war. As deicide was a crime peculiar to the Jews and exceeded every other crime, their punishment was severe above measure. Had the Almighty punished them to the full of what they had deserved, not one of the Jews would have escaped. But as he formerly would have spared Sodom and Gomorrha, had there been found therein ten just men to avert the impending ruin; so shall these days of affliction be shortened for the sake of some who believe. The verses subsequent to the 22d, are explained by St. Chrysostom of the second coming of Christ, previous to the general judgment. (Jansenius) --- Such as wish for a more particular explanation of every thing preceding the 23d verse, how it applies to the Jews, may consult the concordance of Jansenius, who thus concludes his observations: "Hitherto we have explained all things of the destruction of Jerusalem, which prophecies, though they principally regarded the times of the apostles, may be of use to us in two ways. 1. It will confirm our faith, when we see clearly fulfilled whatever was distinctly foretold of this people; and may serve to increase our fears, when we reflect, that what is immediately added concerning the day of judgment, shall be fulfilled with the same rigorous exactitude and certainty. It is another effect of divine Providence for the increase of our faith, that this prophecy, which was to take place with regard to Jerusalem, is not mentioned by St. John, who lived long enough to see it accomplished, but by the other evangelists, who died long before the event. 2. Is should animate us in the practice of virtue, and gratitude to reflect, that whatever tribulations happen to the Church, or throughout the earth, all co-operate to the advantage of the elect. Such as will be good, have nothing to fear." (Jansenius)

Ver. 5. For many will come. One of these was Simon Magus, who in the Acts (chap. viii. ver. 10.) is mentioned as calling himself the power of God; hence the apostle St. John (1 John ii. 18,) says, and as you have heard that Antichrist cometh, even now there are become many Antichrists. By Antichrists I understand heretics, who, under the name of Christ, teach doctrines different from Christ; neither is there any reason for us to be surprised, if many be seduced, since our Lord declares that many will be seduced. (St. Jerome) ... This alone will be sufficient for us to know the false doctrines taught by Antichrist, when they assure us that they are Christ; for we do not read in any part that Christ said so of himself. The miracles he performed, the doctrines he taught, and the virtues he on every occasion exhibited, were proofs sufficient to convince us that he was the Christ. There is need of the assistance of God to overcome the snares laid for us by hypocrisy. (Origen) --- Among these impostors were one Theodas, (Acts v. 36,) the impious Egyptian, (Acts xxi. 38,) Judas of Galilee, Menander, and several others who preceded the destruction of Jerusalem; but many more will precede the destruction of the world. This therefore is the first sign, the seduction of many souls from the true faith by heresies, and is common to both events. (Jansenius) --- See much more in Barradius, tom. iii. lib. 9, chap. 2, where he collects various illustrations from Josephus and profane authors. (Menochius)

Ver. 6. Shall hear of wars. Most authors understand this second sign of the Jewish wars which preceded the ruin of Jerusalem; others of the wars of Antichrist, previous to the end of the world. Both are very probable. The first is proved from history, and from the events; the latter, from what we learn from the Apocalypse, will certainly happen. (Menochius) --- These things must happen, as is said of scandals and heresies, not absolutely, but considering the malice of man, and the decree of God, by which he had determined to punish the Jews. (Maldonatus)

Ver. 7. And there shall be, according to the proverb, Greek: loimos meta limon, plague after famine, both natural daughters of war, with intestine divisions, earthquakes, and other calamities; the third sign. ... As the bodies of men generally grow weak and faint previous to dissolution, so will it be with the earth before the destruction of the world; so that this inferior globe will be shaken with unusual convulsions, as if making its last effort for existence. The air filled with destructive vapours will turn to the ruin of men, and the earth exhausted of its natural fertility, will refuse its accustomed support to the sons of Adam. Hence will arise wars and famines, insurrections, rebellions, and mobs; some driven on by famine and want, others by ambition and avarice. But if the corrupted heart of man shall refuse to depart from its evil ways, these calamities shall be increased; for all these are only the beginnings of more dreadful sorrows. (Origen)

Ver. 9. Then shall they deliver you up, &c. The fourth sign, common to both these events, shall be the persecution raised against the Church, which will be two-fold; it will regard both body and soul. See Luke xxi. 12; Mark xiii. 9. All this happened to the apostles previously to the seige of Jerusalem, as well as to the martyrs in subsequent times. A similar persecution, attended probably with additional severity, will most probably be the lot of the faithful during the reign of Antichrist. The calamities, bloodshed, and utter ruin which took place at the destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem, are a figure of the still more dreadful calamities, bloodshed, and druin to be expected towards the end of the world; and which should be frequently present to our minds. The late learned and venerable prelate Walmesly admonishes all parents to be ever ready to meet, with Christian resignation, the awful and approaching event; for the rest of the world, as we learn from revelation, will be taken by surprise, as the people at the deluge. Yes, this last may literally be styled a bloody trial; for the Church, which was purified with blood, began in blood, increased in blood, and will end in blood.

Sanguine mundata est ecclesia, sanguine cœpit,

Sanguine succrevit, sanguine finis erit.

The last chapter of the Apocalypse, which is the last communication of the divine will to man, is deserving our frequent and very attentive perusal. In it Jesus Christ, by his repeated warnings, wishes to awaken us to a sense of that day of general retribution, saying: surely I come quickly: behold I come quickly: and my reward is with me, to render to every man according to his work. (Behold the merit of good works proceeding from faith and charity.) With what earnestness have the servants of God, in every age, prayed with St. John Apocalypse xxii. 20.) Come, Lord Jesus; come, put a final end to the reign of sin and Satan; come, admit thy elect, who have been purified in the waters of the great persecution, and in the blood of the Lamb, to thy heavenly bosom; to that happy sanctuary and asylum, where no hunger or thirst, no scorching heat or the sun, no fiery temptation will any more reach or molest them; where the sigh and the groan will not be heard; where all tears will be wiped away from every eye, and where they will be inebriated at the torrent of immortal delights, and will see and enjoy the Lord Jesus, without any apprehension of offending him, for ever and ever. (Haydock)

Ver. 11. And many false prophets shall rise, like those lying teachers mentioned by St. Peter, (2nd Peter chap. ii. ver. 1) who shall bring in sects of perdition, (i.e. heresies destructive of salvation) bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

Ver. 12. And because iniquity hath (literally, shall) abounded, shall arrive at its height, the charity of many, carried away by the force of bad example, will grow cold; and scarcely, even among Christians, will a person be found willing to assist Christians, lest he may be known for a Christian. Of this we have an example, 2 Timothy iv. 16, At my first answer, no man stood with me, but all forsook me: may it not be laid to their charge; but the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me. (Maldonatus)

Ver. 13. But he that shall persevere to the end, in the midst of this trying and afflicting scene, in faith and charity, (or as it is in the Greek; he that shall preserve his patience to the end, Greek: o upomeinas, proof against heresies, persecutions, hatreds, or scandals) shall be saved. To perseverance alone this promise is made; for, non quæruntur in Christianis initia sed finis. (Tertullian) A part of this prediction was, beyond all doubt, accomplished with regard to the faithful in the first persecutions raised by the Jews against the infant Christian Church; but the entire and literal completion of it is reserved for the latter times.

Ver. 14. This gospel ... shall be preached in the whole world, to serve as a testimony to all nations, of the solicitude of heaven in having the doctrine of salvation announced to them. This then is a fifth sign, and not till then shall the consummation come. --- And then shall the consummation come. The end of the world, says St. Jerome. The destruction of Jerusalem, says St. Chrysostom and others. (Witham) --- If the final destruction of Jerusalem be here meant, the gospel had been preached throughout the major part of the then known world. See Romans x. and Colossians i. 6, 23. If the end of the world, there is the greatest probability that the true faith will have been announced to every part of the globe, before that period.

Ver. 15. The abomination of desolation was first partly fulfilled by divers profanations of the temple, as when the image of Cæsar was set up in the temple by Pilate, and Adrian's statue in the holy of holies, and when the sacrifices were taken away; but will be more completely fulfilled by Antichrist and his precursors, when they shall attempt to abolish the holy sacrifice of the mass. St. Hyppolitus, in his treatise de Anti-Christo, mentioned by Eusebius, St. Jerome, and Photius, thus writeth: "The churches shall lament with great lamentations, because there shall neither be made oblations, nor incense, nor worship grateful to God. ... In those days the liturgy (or mass) shall be neglected, the psalmody shall cease, the reciting of Scripture shall not be heard." --- The prophet Daniel (xii. 11.) calculates the reign of Antichrist, from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away; which by able commentators, is understood of the sacrifice of the mass, which Antichrist will endeavour to suppress. --- The abomination of desolation, or the abominable desolation. Instead of these words, we read in St. Luke, (xxi. 20.) When you shall see Jerusalem surrounded by an army. Christ said both the one and the other. But the words in St. Luke, seem rather to give us a sign of the ruin of Jerusalem, than of the end of the world. --- Spoken of by Daniel, the prophet. The sense is, when you shall see that very prophecy of Daniel literally fulfilled hereafter. What follows in the prophecy of Daniel, confirms this exposition; when the prophet adds, that the desolation shall continue to the end; that the Jews from that time, shall be no more the people of God, for denying their Messias; and that they shall put the Christ to death. But what then was this desolation, which by the following verse, was to be a sign to the Christians to fly out of Judea? Some expound it of the heathen Roman army, approaching and investing Jerusalem, called the holy city. Others understand the profanation of the temple, made by the Jews themselves, a little before the siege under Vespasian; when the civil dissensions, those called the Zealots, had possessed themselves of the temple, and placed their warlike engines upon the pinnacles; and a part, at least, of the temple was defiled with the dead bodies of those killed there. It was at that time that the Christians, according to Christ's admonition, left Jerusalem and Judea, and fled to Pella, beyond the Jordan. See Eusebius, lib. iii. Hist. chap. v. (Witham)

Ver. 16. Then let those. It is well known that this prophecy was verified to the letter, in the destruction of Jerusalem. For, as the Roman army advanced, all the Christians who were in the province, forewarned by divine admonition, retired to a distance, and crossing the Jordan, took refuge in the city of Pella, situated in Trachonitis, and became subjects of king Agrippa, who was in amity with the Romans. (St. Remigius)

Ver. 17. Not come down, into the house. They had no occasion, as Mauduit and others seem to suppose, to throw themselves from the roof, for the Jews had usually stairs on the outside of their houses. (Bible de Vence)

Ver. 20. In the winter: an inconvenient season for flying away. --- Or on the sabbath, when it was lawful to travel only about a mile. (Witham) --- Pray to God that you may be enabled to escape those evils, and that there may be no impediment to your flight. (Estius, in different location)

Ver. 22. No flesh: a Hebraism for no person; denoting that no one would have escaped death, had the war continued. (Witham) --- All the Jews would have been destroyed by the Romans, or all the Christians by Antichrist. (Maldonatus) --- From this place, Jesus Christ foretells the coming of Antichrist, and forewarns Christians of latter ages, to guard all they can against seduction.

Ver. 23. Lo, here is Christ. These words are very aptly applied by Catholics to the conventicles of heretics; and would Christians attend to the injunctions of their divine Master, Go ye not out: --- believe it not, we should not see the miserable confusion occasioned in the Catholic Church, by unsteady Christians; who are guilty of schism, in forsaking the one true fold, and one shepherd, to follow their blind and unauthorized leaders. (Estius)

Ver. 26. Behold he is in the desert. This prediction of false Christs, may be understood before the destruction of Jerusalem, but chiefly before the end of the world. (Witham) --- As we have mentioned above, in note on verse 5.

Ver. 28. Wheresoever the body, &c. This seems to have been a proverb or common saying among the Jews. Several of the ancient interpreters, by this body, understand Christ himself, who died for us; and they tell us, that at his second coming the angels and saints, like eagles, with incredible swiftness, will join him at the place of judgment. (Witham) --- When he shall come to judgment, all, as it were by a natural instinct, shall fly to meet him, and receive their judgment. St. Hilary understands this literally; that where his body shall hang upon the cross, there will he appear in judgment, i.e. near the valley of Josaphat; in which place the prophet Joel (chap. iii. ver. 2,) declares, that the general judgment shall take place. (Tirinus)

Ver. 29. The sun shall be darkened, &c. These seem to be the dreadful signs that shall forerun the day of judgment. --- The stars shall fall, not literally, but shall give no light. (Witham) --- According to St. Augustine, by the sun is meant Jesus Christ; by the mood, the Church, which will appear as involved in darkness.

Ver. 30. The sign of the Son of man, &c. The Fathers generally expound this of the cross of Christ, that shall be seen in the air. (Witham) --- This sign is the cross, much more resplendent than the sun itself. Therefore the sun hides its diminished head, whilst the cross appears in glory; because the great standard of the cross, excels in brightness all the refulgent rays that dart from the meridian sun. (St. Chrysostom, hom. lxxvii.) --- The Jews, looking upon him whom they had pierced, now coming in the clouds of heaven with power and exceedingly great glory, shall have great lamentations. Bitterly will they weep over their misery, in having despised and insulted him on a cross, who oug