Saint Anthony the Great – attacked by demons
Jesus went out along the sea. All the crowd came to him and he taught them.
As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post.
Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed Jesus.
While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples,
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus heard this and said to them,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” Mark 2:13-17
I feel like God has been speaking to me about the rise of an antichrist. And I feel obligated to warn. I am not here to tell you who it is because I don’t know. I am here to tell you to recognize the signs.
He pointed out that there are actually anti-Christ’s everywhere, people who accept ideology that is un-Godly. Think those who promote abortion and unethical things in the medical world.
But there will be one, one who will embody this more than others. Saint Thomas Aquinas put it this way;
“As in Christ dwells the fullness of the Godhead so in Antichrist the fullness of all wickedness. Not indeed in the sense that his humanity is to be assumed by the devil into unity of person…but that the devil by suggestion infuses his wickedness more copiously into him than into all others. In this way all the wicked that have gone before are signs of Antichrist.”
Have you ever wondered that perhaps the antichrist would be conservative or traditional?
I think this idea would shock most as I regularly see people call those who embrace leftist anti-God ideology the antichrist… and of course to a degree this is correct. But… those who accept the anti-God ideology have already been won over by Satan. So how does Satan win over all of us? By rising in the form of a ruler who implements the rules that we are all longing for.
So as in all things I took this to meditation, and Christ always points me to His passion as the way to truth. I meditated on His Passion and God pointed out a few things to me.
The antichrist will be inside the Church (and I most likely I think the Catholic Church, but not necessarily because Protestants are part of Church, I will explain further). Those who condemned Jesus were His own.
The antichrist will feed on the fact that anti-God leftists have shoved sin in our faces and people will be so fed up they will praise the person who implements the rules.
In Jesus’ time, there were many different factions of Jews, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Zealots, Essenes etc. Caiphas was actually a Sadducee, this was the group that didn’t believe in Resurrection, and ultimately the one who condemns him along with the Pharisees. Today we have all these factions of Christianity.
I was taking a class this week and the professor said to the class that he considers himself a traditionalist, but that he disagrees with some of the traditionalists because some of them have said to him that having a Personal Relationship with Christ is a Protestant idea and heresy. I WAS ASTONISHED AT THIS. Every Saint speaks of this personal relationship, so how could anyone possibly think this? Then it dawned on me, these people are Sadducees and Pharisees both. Some probably don’t really believe in Resurrection because if they did, personal relationship would not be so foreign to them and others just believe they can save themselves. The Sadducees rejected belief in angels so there will be no protection because it won’t be called upon. And the Sadducees enjoyed a better relationship with Roman leaders, making me think too that whoever this person is will have a role to play in world leadership and the politics of it.
And the betrayal of Jesus’ was a blaspheming of the Holy Spirit. A rejection of mercy. So too in this time, will the Antichrist reject mercy. And people will be glad to accept it because they will have had so much leftist Godless ideology shoved in their faces they will be looking for a worldly way out, the same way both Judas and Peter did. People sick of persecution turn to worldly ways and the Antichrist becomes the enactor of what they think God’s justice is, while those who weep bitterly in humility will be saved.
Those who are true Christians actually think sin is wrong and try not to sin, but will still eat with tax collectors and sinners, they will be condemned.
It is the path of Christ.
Leftists and sinners who refuse to repent implode on themselves. But even in this, God’s mercy is far reaching because he will know those who “knew not what they did.”
Sadducees and Pharisees don’t think they need a Savior, even though they have been taught – they will surely see God’s true justice…
Ultimately the antichrist does these things, though we may not know it at first;
- “Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist”(1John 2:22).
A person who does not believe in personal relationship is actually denying him.
- Let no one deceive you in any way. For unless the apostasy comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one doomed to perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god and object of worship, so as to seat himself in the temple of God, claiming that he is a god…But the one who restrains is to do so only for the present, until he is removed from the scene. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord [Jesus] will kill with the breath of his mouth and render powerless by the manifestation of his coming, the one whose coming springs from the power of Satan in every mighty deed and in signs and wonders that lie, and in every wicked deceit for those who are perishing because they have not accepted the love of truth so that they may be saved. Therefore, God is sending them a deceiving power so that they may believe the lie, that all who have not believed the truth but have approved wrongdoing may be condemned.” – 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12
We know apostasy comes FIRST – That is already here.
Then comes the lawless one – but he is a liar – and we will believe the lie because we actually aren’t grounded in the truth of mercy saving, we will be looking for worldly justice.
- So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. … For false messiahs and false prophets will appear… Matthew 24:15-27
It will be a false messiah – and people will believe because it won’t be so obvious to them that it is false and we will end up fleeing. It’s worth reading all of Matthew 24.
- And Saint John Damascene said this; “During the first part of his reign — of his tyranny rather — he plays more the part of sanctity; but when he gains complete control, he persecutes the Church of God and reveals all his wickedness. ‘And he shall come in signs and lying wonders’ — sham ones and not real — and he shall seduce those whose intention rests on a rotten and unstable foundation and make them abandon the living God, ‘in as much as to scandalize (if possible) even the elect…’”
We will be fooled by the supposed sanctity that seems true to the faith.
It is here that our Protestant brothers and sisters can help us. Their focus on the personal relationship is actually something every single saint talks about.
I think there is a lot of fear in Catholics about the Protestants. We should never ever make decisions out of fear. We can feel fear, but hand it to God, and walk in his confidence. Fear is a beast that will eat you alive. We are told so much that the Catholics have the fullness of the truth, which IS TRUE, but if the devil uses it to convince us that they are our enemy, then it becomes part of our own demise. Personal relationship through prayer is wholly important in our salvation. The Protestants who are listening to God and being obedient in all things will be led to the Catholic Church by the Holy Spirit – through their prayer. All roads lead to the Catholic Church for all Christians. We don’t just need to disciple those who accept sin, but also those who live only by justice and cannot accept mercy. This is why Divine Mercy and Saint Faustina are so paramount. This is the middle way. It is imperative in these times to call on Saint Michael and his legions to protect our minds from the deceit of the evil one.
Veil of Veronica 
This is awesome. Chilling, because I consider myself (weirdly) both a Traditionalist AND a Charismatic. I pray in tongues, I love praise and worship, I’ve had a personal relationship with Jesus since age 13 (I grew up Protestant). This makes sense to me in view of what the Protestants say often, that the Anti-Christ is the Pope. A lot of them think that Pope Francis is the Anti-Christ because he is so liberal, but I usually tell them “Oh, he’s a Jesuit, they’re all like that” lol……thank you for this beautiful post which is so thought provoking.
So I consider myself traditionalist and charismatic too… A traditional person is usually contemplative like Mary. A charismatic embraces the gifts of the Spirit. Mary and the Holy Spirit were spouses in union and so too should we be.
Your article is interesting.
I could not help thinking the EU as a body is eerily showing its true colours as anti Christian. It all started off like a great idea with countries working together for the benefit of all. In reality it turns out looking back those in the EU were basically ganging up on many countries in the third world, causing much economic hardship and distress.
Now we have millions of people from Africa and Asia forced to flee to Europe to survive.
I honestly think the antichrist operates through the EU, and is about to grab all the former Catholic civilised countries in Europe. I hope I am wrong. But it gives me the creeps to see both main political parties in the UK, holding up the white flag of surrender to Europe in defiance of the majority vote by the people to exit this diabolical union. I could even say dictatorship.
The first casualty in any war they say is ‘TRUTH.’ UK has been governed by politicians FAKING. Yes it is not just the media. God preserve us all.
Yes, all these attacks from the outside of the church were also present in Jesus’ time as well. Evil governments and pagan ideology all precursors. Satan attacks from every angle. And those who crucified him came from within, and cooperated with those on the outside to get the job done.
And perhaps the Decree of the antichrist might just read something like this Letter found in the Book of Esther, chapter 3:
Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus:
“Dispersed among the nations throughout the provinces of your kingdom, there is a certain people living apart. Their laws differ from those of every other people and they do not obey the laws of the king; so it is not proper for the king to tolerate them.e9If it please the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them; and I will deliver to the procurators ten thousand silver talents for deposit in the royal treasury.”f10The king took the signet ring* from his hand and gave it to Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.g11The king said to Haman, “The silver is yours, as well as the people, to do with as you please.”*
12So the royal scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and they wrote, at the dictation of Haman, an order to the royal satraps, the governors of every province, and the officials of every people, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the royal signet ring.13Letters were sent by couriers to all the royal provinces, to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, including women and children in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, and to seize their goods as spoil.h
This is a copy of the letter:
“The great King Ahasuerus writes to the satraps of the hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia, and the governors subordinate to them, as follows:2When I came to rule many peoples and to hold sway over the whole world, not being carried away by a sense of my own authority but always acting fairly and with mildness, I determined to provide for my subjects a life of lasting tranquility; and, by making my kingdom civilized and safe for travel to its farthest borders, to restore the peace desired by all people.a3When I consulted my counselors as to how this might be accomplished, Haman, who excels among us in discretion, who is outstanding for constant good will and steadfast loyalty, and who has gained a place in the kingdom second only to me,b4brought it to our attention that, mixed among all the nations throughout the world, there is one people of ill will, which by its laws is opposed to every other people and continually disregards the decrees of kings, so that the unity of empire blamelessly designed by us cannot be established.c
5“Having noted, therefore, that this nation, and it alone, is continually at variance with all people, lives by divergent and alien laws, is inimical to our government, and does all the harm it can to undermine the stability of the kingdom,6we hereby decree that all those who are indicated to you in the letters of Haman, who is in charge of the administration and is a second father to us, shall, together with their wives and children, be utterly destroyed by the swords of their enemies, without any pity or mercy, on the fourteenth day* of the twelfth month, Adar, of the current year;d7so that when these people, whose present ill will is of long standing, have gone down into Hades by a violent death on a single day, they may leave our government completely stable and undisturbed for the future.”
A copy of the decree to be promulgated as law in every province was published to all the peoples, that they might be prepared for that day.15The couriers set out in haste at the king’s command; meanwhile, the decree was promulgated in the royal precinct of Susa. The king and Haman then sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.
*****
“Esther”…the film has now been Providentially released.
Esther is a Type of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Along with the Prophecy of 70 Weeks in the Book of Daniel, Esther is very timely reading for us. We have just hit the 70th anniversary of Israel. We are right there….
You will have to fill me in more on this. I do recognize the interceeding of the Queen to help bring about the deliverance of her people.
Susan, I’m still working through your post – there’s so much to process!!
But can you help me – do you know what are the differences between the Pharisees and the Sadducees? Did they get along?
Here is what Catholic Answers says; Both the Sadducees and the Pharisees were religious parties in Jesus’ day. Both were critical of and were criticized by Jesus.
The Sadducees thought of themselves as “conservatives,” as the Old Believers. This is because they accepted only the written Law of Moses as authoritative and rejected subsequent revelation. As a result, the Sadducees denied many of the doctrines held by the Pharisees and by Jesus, including the resurrection of the dead, the existence of angels and spirits, and the meting out of rewards and punishment after death. These beliefs were thought by the Sadducees to be Zoroastrian corruptions of the authentic faith of Israel.
Although a religious party, the Sadducees were more important as a political force. They represented the priestly aristocracy and the power structure of Israel. For them, the duties of religion centered primarily around the Temple.
The Pharisees, on the other hand, were a lay group more representative of the common man. In addition to the written Law of Moses, the Pharisees accepted as authoritative the rest of what is for us the Old Testament, as well as the “tradition of the elders.”
Whereas the Sadducees saw worship at the Temple as the main focus of the Law, the Pharisees believed this to be but one component among many of proper Mosaic observance. It was over the interpretation of the Law and which understanding of it represented the authentic tradition of Israel that Jesus and the Pharisees disagreed.
After the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, Sadducaic Judaism disappeared and Pharisaic Judaism became dominant. It is from the Pharisees, then, that contemporary Judaism is primarily descended.
Thank you for this, Susan. My husband and I were seeking some answers. I think we have found some here.
…then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Susan, in the present context, who are these people who are in Judea?
Read all of Matthew 24. It’s for all of us right now.
Going right now.
I can confirm this as the Lord gave me the exact same inspiration. We are being set up to welcome the antichrist in this lawlessness. This was about 3 weeks ago, unexpected. Trump was Gods merciful repreive…not a savior. This time should be used to get your spiritual houses in order and intercede for the lost. You can see the wolves spitting and snarling just waiting to take over. Be wise and accept this great gift of time….do not be caught up in the politics, the scandals, etc.
God Bless you.
Susan,
This makes no sense scripturally:
“Those who are true Christians who follow the law, but eat with tax collectors and sinners, they will be condemned.
It is the path of Christ.”
Christ ate with the tax collectors and sinners, and this was one, among many, issues the Pharisees condemned Him for.
Second, we do not follow the Law of Moses. It has been abrogated.
May be you were not clear here and I am consequently misconstruing your meaning. By the law, you could mean the decalogue, positive law, etc. I do not know. The law of Moses seems to be your intention from the context, but I could be wrong. Could you clarify?
Thanks James. I am not a theologian, so what I mean is that eating with tax collectors and sinners does not mean condoning sin. People seem to take one of two extremes sometimes. The one that condemns sinners, or the one that accepts sin. Jesus actually converted sinners, he didn’t accept sin as okay. He lifts people out of it. So when I think of keeping the law, I am not talking about the Old law, I am talking about the fact that we should try not to sin in the first place. I am not an intellectual, so sometimes I get myself in the weeds. Thanks for pointing it out to me. I will correct it.
Susan,
In ecumenical dialogues, one of the necessary things is to define the terms. Certain Protestant sects have historically used terms such as “sacrifice,” “Real Presence,” “Sacramentarian,” for example without having the same meaning as Catholics. Sometimes, the ambiguity of language was deliberately cultivated, as shown by the efforts of Archbishop Cranmer in the changes he made to the Sarum Rite in 1549. So, to condemn “traditionalists” for their refusal to approve Protestant language on a “personal relationship with Jesus” is to lose context and not understand their position, the position found in most Catholic literature before 1985.
What needs to be understood is the ideology behind the phrase “Personal relationship with Jesus.” On the surface, you are correct, but most Protestants and Catholics do not know the historical background to the phrase. It has its roots in the devotional movement found among the beguines and would spread from them to the Rhineland mystics and from their to Luther. It is best exemplified by the work of Margarite Porete in her book the Mirror of Simple Souls. It is a beautiful work, full of what we would call a personal relationship with God. So far so good. But, there is a notable absence of the presence of the Church and the need for the Sacraments. This would lead to a clash with the Church authorities and lead to her being burned at the stake in 1310.
Porete would influence Meister Eckardt, who influenced both Henry Suso (whom you have cited elsewhere in this blog) and Johannes Tauler. Both of these were an influence upon the anonymous German Catholic Priest (a Teutonic Knight) who wrote the Theologica Germanica. Luther would create an edition of the Theologica Germanica that became one of the leading books used by Lutherans. This devotionalism, carried to an unhealthy extreme at the reformation, would lead to this mentality: you did not need the sacraments when you had a personal relationship with Jesus. For example, “Why go to confession? I will just tell my sins to Jesus and H will make it right. I have a personal relationship with Jesus and therefore I do not need a priest.”
I remember in the 1970s, the “Jesus is my pal, Jesus is my buddy, Jesus is my friend, Jesus is my savior and therefore my friend” that I heard from Pat Roberston, Jim Baker, Oral Roberts and other evangelical preachers. The confession example is one I have heard over the years. Another example is found in the lyrics of the song “Jesus is Just Alright with Me”
If you note, the saints never call it a personal relationship to Jesus,” even tough it is literally that. However, the saints go to a deeper level, a higher level and talk of union, of hearts, minds, divinization, being on fire with God, in love with God, in union with God. The reception of Jesus in Holy Communion is a big part of Catholic devotional piety in this union and the need for the sacraments is, too. Yes, Jesus is our friend (“I call you friends” he say in scripture), but the relationship of the saints to our Lord is more like that in the Song of Songs, the lover and the beloved.
So, in context, the traditionalist is right to be suspicious of the phraseology “a personal relationship with Jesus.” They are coming to the table with the more elevated notion of our relationship with our Lord associated with the sacraments. But, you are correct, Susan we should not be afraid of this language and should reclaim it for the Church, as this lower level is also needed for practical evangelization.
And yes, for the record, Blessed Henry Suso is great and I was happy to see him quoted.
Thanks again James. I gave a talk on how prayer (personal relationship) without the Sacraments or Sacraments without prayer can lead to a twisting of things so I get what you’re saying. You are definitely on a higher level than the way I explain things and I appreciate the knowledge.
We all do our bit. I am grateful for your blog, Charlie’s and others, like Caitlyn Grace. I look forward to your postings and thank you for your work.
I was blessed to grow up surrounded by devout Protestants of varying stripes. My grandmother was a convert from Methodism and thanks to her I learned the bible as a boy. She gave me Iva Hoth’s wonderful picture/cartoon bible. Funny enough, the version out now is edited to remove some of the risque stories like Gomer and Hosea. A shame as it illustrates covenant theology.
On a related tanget: others have noted this fact, that many evangelicals today do not consider themselves Protestants, but merely as Christians. And, that, Sue, is the Spirit moving us towards unity.
Amen.
Religion often teaches us to look outwardly. But, the ministry of Jesus was one that always pointed us to the inward realities which dictate the thoughts and behaviors of men.
And so it is with the antichrist. So long as we look out there, point our fingers at a definitive figure or a monolithic organization that will rise to power, we will miss that spirit that even now works in many. Who the antichrist is so plainly obvious and yet so many have missed to discern it.
In you and me, there is still a battle raging between two spirits, two hearts, two minds, two natures. In all of us, our will, desires, and thoughts either flow out of the spirit of Christ or the spirit of Adam; the man of sin. So, the spirit of Adam and the spirit of the antichrist are one and the same spirit residing within the soulish realm of man. Both stand as an enemy to Christ. The spirit of antichrist inhabits the self-life of our old carnal nature which usurps the dominion of Christ in our own temple. It is this spirit that possesses men and controls them from within, causing them to reject the voice of God and to walk after the dictates of the flesh. John affirms that “the spirit of the antichrist… is now already in the world” (1 Joh. 4:3) and “even now many antichrists have come” (1 Joh. 2:18).
We also see that the antichrist is not an entity but a spirit that manifests in many. It is now in the world and has for centuries been among us creating disorder, wreaking havoc, distorting identities and ravaging the lives of men and women throughout the world. Despite this fact, how is it that the contemporary church has failed to discern it? How is it that many a minster still teaches about the coming of the antichrist as a monolithic figure? Could it be that the spirit that teaches about the antichrist is the same spirit of the antichrist?
Who is it that sits in the temple of God (which you are) showing himself that he is God? It’s is the carnal mind, the Adamic nature, the self-life which refuses to obediently lay itself down in obedience to Christ.
yes the belief in false ideology is anti-christ. The catechism talks about this. And throughout history there have also been people, leaders who seemed to embody this. The “figure” is one who leads with false ideology and people accept it internally. Nero, Hitler, Mao, etc. So it seems to me it is internal and can also be a figurehead as history has shown that. But you’re correct that the battle is not one of “looking out there” but of looking inside of ourselves and aligning our will with God’s will and not in self glorification.