Apocalypticism

Apocalypticism is enthusiasm about what will happen at the end of the world.

Etymology of Apocalypse

Online Etymology Dictionary

Late 14th century, "revelation, disclosure," from Church Latin, apocalypsis "revelation," from Greek apokalyptein "uncover," from apo- "from" + kalyptein "to cover, conceal" (see Calypso). The Christian end-of-the-world story is part of the revelation in John of Patmos' book "Apokalypsis" (a title rendered into English as "Apocalypse" circa 1230 and "Revelations" by Wyclif circa 1380).

Etymology of Revelation

Online Etymology Dictionary--"reveal"

Late 14th century, from Old French reveler (14c.), from Latin revelare "reveal, uncover, disclose," lit. "unveil," from re- "opposite of" + velare "to cover, veil," from velum "a veil" ... Revealed religion, as opposed to natural religion, is attested from 1719.

Online Etymology Dictionary--"revelation"

Circa 1300, "disclosure of information to man by a divine or supernatural agency," from Old French revelacion, from Latin revelationem (nominative case, revelatio), from revelatus, past participle of revelare (see reveal). General meaning "disclosure of facts" is attested from late 14th century; meaning "striking disclosure" is from 1862. As the name of the last book of the New Testament (Revelation of St. John), it is first attested circa 1400 ...; as simply Revelations, it is first recorded 1690s.

Apocalyptic jargon

Adventism

The Church does not have a dogmatic definition of the sequence of events that will happen at the end of the world. Not every verse in Scripture is asserted as "literally true" by the Magisterium (Latin, "teaching authority"; a single word standing for the "apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists, and teachers" in Paul's epistles). No one will be exempted by the age in which they live from the obligation of justice to personally repent of all of our sins and to make reparation for our own wrongdoing. The dogmatic teaching of the Church is in the Nicene creed: "He will come [Latin, "advent"] again in glory to judge the living and the dead."

Catholics are therefore Adventists, but without any "countdown to kickoff" clock running and without any definite map of the end-time (Greek, "eschatological") events. We know THAT Jesus will come and make all things new, but we do not know HOW or WHEN.

Eschatology

Eschaton is Greek for "the end."

Eschata is the plural of eschaton, so it means "end things" or "last things."

Eschatology means "study of the end things"--striving to understand what God wants us to know about the end of the world.

The Rapture

1 Thessalonians

1 Thes 4:13-18

¹³ We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
¹⁵ Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep.
¹⁶ For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
¹⁷ Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up [raptured!] together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord.
¹⁸ Therefore, console one another with these words.

Theories about the Rapture

• Carl Olson, Will Catholics Be Left Behind?

Term	Definition
Premillenialism	The Rapture comes before the Millenium.
Postmillenialism	The Rapture comes after the Millenium.
Amillenarian	There is no Millenium; the Rapture coincides with Judgment Day.
Mid-tribulation	Christians get Raptured after 3.5 of the 7 years of Tribulation.

The Antichrist

Scripture speaks of more than one Antichrist.

There always have been and always will be traitors in the midst of the disciples.

The dogma

From the Nicene Creed in 325 AD:

"He will come [Latin, "advent"] in glory to judge the living and the dead."

All Nicene Christians, and therefore all Catholics, are Adventists.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Part One: The Profession of Faith

Section Two: The Profession of the Christian Faith

Chapter Two: I Believe In Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God

Article 7: "From Thence He Will Come Again to Judge the Living and the Dead"

I. He Will Come Again In Glory

Christ already reigns through the Church. . .

#668

"Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living." Christ's Ascension into heaven signifies his participation, in his humanity, in God's power and authority. Jesus Christ is Lord: he possesses all power in heaven and on earth. He is "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion", for the Father "has put all things under his feet." Christ is Lord of the cosmos and of history. In him human history and indeed all creation are "set forth" and transcendently fulfilled.

#669

As Lord, Christ is also head of the Church, which is his Body. Taken up to heaven and glorified after he had thus fully accomplished his mission, Christ dwells on earth in his Church. The redemption is the source of the authority that Christ, by virtue of the Holy Spirit, exercises over the Church. "The kingdom of Christ [is] already present in mystery", "on earth, the seed and the beginning of the kingdom".

#670

Since the Ascension God's plan has entered into its fulfillment. We are already at "the last hour". "Already the final age of the world is with us, and the renewal of the world is irrevocably under way; it is even now anticipated in a certain real way, for the Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real but imperfect." Christ's kingdom already manifests its presence through the miraculous signs that attend its proclamation by the Church.

. . .until all things are subjected to him

#671

Though already present in his Church, Christ's reign is nevertheless yet to be fulfilled "with power and great glory" by the King's return to earth. This reign is still under attack by the evil powers, even though they have been defeated definitively by Christ's Passover. Until everything is subject to him, "until there be realized new heavens and a new earth in which justice dwells, the pilgrim Church, in her sacraments and institutions, which belong to this present age, carries the mark of this world which will pass, and she herself takes her place among the creatures which groan and travail yet and await the revelation of the sons of God." That is why Christians pray, above all in the Eucharist, to hasten Christ's return by saying to him: Marana tha! "Our Lord, come!"

#672

Before his Ascension Christ affirmed that the hour had not yet come for the glorious establishment of the messianic kingdom awaited by Israel which, according to the prophets, was to bring all men the definitive order of justice, love and peace. According to the Lord, the present time is the time of the Spirit and of witness, but also a time still marked by "distress" and the trial of evil which does not spare the Church and ushers in the struggles of the last days. It is a time of waiting and watching.

The glorious advent of Christ, the hope of Israel

#673 Since the Ascension Christ's coming in glory has been imminent, even though "it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority." This eschatological coming could be accomplished at any moment, even if both it and the final trial that will precede it are "delayed".

#674 The glorious Messiah's coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by "all Israel", for "a hardening has come upon part of Israel" in their "unbelief" toward Jesus. St. Peter says to the Jews of Jerusalem after Pentecost: "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old." St. Paul echoes him: "For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?" The "full inclusion" of the Jews in the Messiah's salvation, in the wake of "the full number of the Gentiles", will enable the People of God to achieve "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ", in which "God may be all in all."

The Church's ultimate trial

#675 Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.

#676 The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the "intrinsically perverse" political form of a secular messianism.

#677 The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. God's triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgment after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.

II. To Judge the Living and the Dead

#678 Following in the steps of the prophets and John the Baptist, Jesus announced the judgment of the Last Day in his preaching. Then will the conduct of each one and the secrets of hearts be brought to light. Then will the culpable unbelief that counted the offer of God's grace as nothing be condemned. Our attitude to our neighbor will disclose acceptance or refusal of grace and divine love. On the Last Day Jesus will say: "Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me."

#679 Christ is Lord of eternal life. Full right to pass definitive judgment on the works and hearts of men belongs to him as redeemer of the world. He "acquired" this right by his cross. The Father has given "all judgment to the Son". Yet the Son did not come to judge, but to save and to give the life he has in himself. By rejecting grace in this life, one already judges oneself, receives according to one's works, and can even condemn oneself for all eternity by rejecting the Spirit of love.

In Brief

#680 Christ the Lord already reigns through the Church, but all the things of this world are not yet subjected to him. The triumph of Christ's kingdom will not come about without one last assault by the powers of evil.

#681 On Judgment Day at the end of the world, Christ will come in glory to achieve the definitive triumph of good over evil which, like the wheat and the tares, have grown up together in the course of history.

#682 When he comes at the end of time to judge the living and the dead, the glorious Christ will reveal the secret disposition of hearts and will render to each man according to his works, and according to his acceptance or refusal of grace.

How should we prepare for the end of the world?

In view of the Church's dogmatic Adventism, "what must we do to gain eternal life?"

• Repent of our personal sins and believe the Good News.

This is how we "accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior." Jesus is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." When he reveals that He will come in glory to judge the living and the dead, He reveals that He is the Good Shepherd who personally guards and guides each member of the flock.

• Make amends to those whom we have hurt.
• Obey God's commandments and the precepts of the Church.
• Cultivate the natural and supernatural virtues that make us fit to take our place in the Communion of Saints
• Love God with our whole hearts, our whole minds, and all our strength and love our neighbor as ourselves.
• Spend today in God's service. There is a proverbial saying to the effect that yesterday is gone, tomorrow may not come, so today is the day to live life to the full (Latin proverb: "Carpe diem," "Seize the day!").

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil” (Mt 6:33).

"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me" (Mt 16:24).

God is not going to grade us on how accurate a map of the future we have drawn from reading the Scriptures. No calendar specifying the sequence of future catastrophes has any saving value.

Trying to calculate the amount of time left before the Eschaton, the End of Everything, is a waste of the time God has given us. God does not expect us to follow hand-drawn maps of a future that has not yet arrived; He expects us to pick up our cross and follow Jesus here and now. If God decides that we are to see Jesus coming in Glory, He will provide what we need at that moment--just as He has provided and will provide what we need at every moment in our lives.

At the end of the Gospel of John, Jesus reveals to Peter that he will be murdered for the sake of the gospel. When Peter asks Jesus what is going to happen to the Beloved Disciple, Jesus replies, "What concern is it of yours? You follow me" (Jn 21:22).

None of us knows whether we will be alive to see the End of Everything. We do know that, in any event, we will come to the end of our lives, one way or the other. The gifts and tasks that God has given to other Christians in other ages, past, present, or future, is none of our business. At the end of our lives, we will face God's judgment of how we have lived our own lives. It is none of our business how other Christians will or will not be put to the test. God will ask us, "What did you do with what I gave you?"

What should those Catholics who believe that "the end is near" do differently from other Catholics? Nothing whatsoever. The ordinary life of a good Catholic prepares each one of us for death and judgment. Except for a few privileged mystics to whom God gave a special, personal revelation about when and how they would die, the rest of us know "neither the day nor the hour" nor the month nor the year of our death. "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen!"

The earth can shake, the sky come down,
The mountains all fall to the ground,
But I will fear none of these things:
Shelter me, Lord, underneath your wings.

Once burned, twice wary

I was baptized in the Spirit in Peter Kreeft's seminar on "Modern Man" at Boston College in January of 1971; I was present when Tommy Dilorenzo prayed over him for the Baptism in the Spirit at the Cenacle in Chestnut Hill and joined the next Life in the Spirit Seminar sponsored by that prayer group. I was a member of the pastoral team that started the Boston College Charismatic prayer group in 1971. I lived in the Cleveland Hill Christian Community in 1971-1972 and in Marian House in 1972-1973.

In the fall of 1972, I became convinced that the End Times were upon us and that the "signs in the sky" would appear on Friday, October 13th, around 8:30 PM (if I remember correctly--I might also have picked Thursday, October 12, Eastern Standard Time). I was delighted with the thought that once the End of Everything was underway, I wouldn't have to finish my term papers but could start preaching the gospel full-time. My fall-back date was November 13 or thereabouts.

I told only one person of my premonitions, in a very vague way. When he asked me what I had been predicting after my dates came and went without any worldwide signs and wonders of any sort, I mumbled and changed the subject as soon as I could.

I will now write down the three hardest words for a man to say: "I was wrong." (I have a cassette tape entitled, "Man Talk," and I periodically practice saying these words when no one is listening. They may yet come in handy again.)

The date I picked was not the end of the world. Nor was my stupendous error in judgment the end of the world. It was what folks in some Twelve Step Programs call "Another F[ree] Growth Opportunity" (AFGO), except that they don't say "Free." I pretty much got out of the game of predicting when the world will end, although I couldn't shake my superstitions about 1984 until 1985 rolled around.

I believe it was Gordy Henry, a man who suffered from Down Syndrome, who told me at Daybreak in 1979, "I am a slow learner--but I learn!" I think I've learned from my mistakes; I hope and pray it is the right lesson.

A Kierkegaardian Postscript

One of my favorite titles is Concluding Unscientific Postscript by Sören Kierkegaard, sub-titled "The Subjective Truth", and published under the pseudonym, Johannes Climacus.

In this postscript, I hazard a guess that I could never prove. It is not a Church teaching but just a personal opinion that you may take with as much salt as your doctor allows in your diet.

I think the apocalyptic mentality is fueled by the joy of knowing something that other people do not know. There is a special kind of pleasure in possessing knowledge known only to a few and hidden from the many. You can hear and feel the exultation of the preachers who say, "We know how this story ends. We've looked in the back of the book. We win!"

The certitude that Jesus is the Victor King and that all who remain faithful to Him will share in His victory is an essential ingredient in the faith. The joy of those who are saved is indeed a "blessed assurance" that can carry us through the darkest times we can imagine: earthquake, fire, flood, famine, pestilence, war, persecution, and disaster. That joy is our birthright. It is a free, unmerited gift from God that is lavished upon us when we are "born again." We should guard this joy as carefully as a sacred fire and never let it be extinguished by any evil that comes to us or to those whom we love.

At the same time, Jesus commands us not to be anxious about tomorrow. If we serve Him well in our state in life, we will enter into the joy of our Master. He will say to us, "Well done, good and faithful servants!"

I think the desire to know all of the details of the End Times is a kind of spiritual drunkenness. Having tasted the joy of Jesus' victory, we become thirsty for more than we have received at present. We want to know things that make no difference to us in our present state. We need to hear what Jesus said to Peter: "What is that to you? I want you to follow Me."

"I'll be living the life I should when I get advance notice on Monday evening that the Second Coming of Jesus is on Wednesday, and I don't need to change my Tuesday schedule."

The end of the world will be glorious. It is something to look forward to with joy, because when Jesus is finished with His work of salvation, "every tear will be wiped away" and all of our sorrows will turn to joy. "All will be well, and all manner of things will be well again, I know" (Julian of Norwich). As we "wait in joyful hope" for that great day, we must not let apocalyptic enthusiasm rob us of our peace of mind and heart. This is the great apocalyptic prayer of the Church that we say at every Mass:

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil,
and grant us peace in our day.
In your mercy
keep us free from sin
and protect us from all anxiety
as we wait in joyful hope
for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

End Time Prayers

Apocalyptic Prologue for any prayer

"Dear Jesus, I am feeling anxious and fearful about the end of my life and the end of the world. I have been buried with you in Baptism; I hope to rise with you after my death, whether it comes today, at the end of the whole world, or at any time between now and then. In your will is my peace. I rely on Your mercy and love. Be it done unto me according to your will."

• Deliverance prayer from the Mass.

• Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel