Are We Living In The End Times?
A number of correspondents and friends in conversation have recently raised the question of whether or not we are actually living in the end times. It seems obvious to me that we are, indeed, living in the end times (whether “the end” is next week, next year or a hundred years from now) so, but for these recent communications, I wouldn’t even think of posting a thread on the topic – it’s something to which we refer often in other discussions.
Then I received an email today containing a link to the Channel 4 documentary Secrets of the Vatican with a request to post a thread on the subject. However, I’ve only had time to watch the beginning of the film, and be warned, it is not pleasant at all. It’s not really necessary to watch it in order to participate in this discussion so my gut instinct is to say “don’t bother” – it’s all about the “filth in the Church” lamented by Pope Benedict. If you choose to watch it, say a prayer first, and then click on the picture of Christ the King to view.
Spiritual blindness is definitely one of the signs of the end times – see 2 Timothy 4:3-4 (“The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine… and will turn away from the truth…”)
The key discussion point for this thread, then, is this: are all the signs of the end times (of which Scripture warns) evident in the world today? Personally, I think they are, with bells on. What do you think?
Comments (37)
No. I don’t believe so.
Essentially, Our Lady of Fatima has said that there will be a period of peace in the world, because Her Immaculate Heart will triumph. And this will be the case, because Our Lady does not lie, and the veracity of Fatima is indisputable as far most of us here are concerned.
The present crises we face will therefore be resolved. And we can look forward to a new age of prosperity and spiritual renewal, hopefully in our life times (it looks that way, I would say, but we can’t know for sure). This contradicts the idea we are in ‘End Times’.
This age of peace has not happened yet. The ‘End Times’, i.e. the rise of the anti-Christ and the second coming etc. will occur only after this period of peace. Realistically, this could be centuries away, millennia even. Or it could be a few decades, who knows, only God.
We are probably experiencing the ‘end of the age’, but not the ‘end of time’.
I disagree. Just because there is to be a period of peace, doesn’t mean we are not living in the end times. The end times could be a long period of time, it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen soon. I think loads of signs of the end times are there especially the erratic weather (Luke 21:11) and the immorality everywhere.
I might not have thought so until the election of Pope Francis but seeing the way he is behaving, I have no doubt that we are now in the end times.
Could one therefore not say, with equal validity, that the ‘End Times’ began in the year AD 900, but that the ‘end times’ period is just very long?
Where do you draw the line?
Pope Francis shouldn’t alarm us. He is the inevitable consequence of the council. He is nothing new, he was ‘created’ in 1962. If you weren’t expecting him, then I think that is naive. I’m surprised it took until 2013.
To me, the prophesied ‘period of peace’ shall be an epoch, an age of the Church. No merely a little hiatus during the ‘End Times’. But then again, I don’t know, and neither do any of us.
The signs you mention are attributed to end times, but they aren’t exclusive to it. It is highly likely erratic weather indicates impending chastisement, not exclusively a sign of end times.
The end times might be very, very soon. It might even be in our lifetimes. Who knows, but it can’t ‘officially’ begin until after the period of peace.
I don’t believe the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart will be anything brief. How do we not know it will last a thousand years or more? Christendom lasted as long. After-all, Our Lady’s kingdom will not easily fall once it’s established.
Miles,
You make some very good points in there. I sincerely – very sincerely – hope you are right, especially about that thousand years. It’ll take me that long to clear my credit card 😀
MI
I totally agree
I think the signs from the Bible are all around us but it could be centuries before the end of the world.
What I don’t think is that there will necessarily be ” a new age of prosperity and spiritual renewal” as MI says, because Our Lady didn’t promise that, she only said there would be a period of world peace. I grant that that probably means that good order will be returned to the Church and definitely
the crisis will be resolved, but I always thought that was to be a prelude to the end of the world, not right away, but in the not too far distant future. Maybe a couple of hundred years, say.
I don’t see why there wouldn’t be a ” new age of prosperity and spiritual renewal”. After all, the “Triumph of the Immaculate Heart” will be a very big deal.
If you consider what happened in Portugal before WWII after the bishops consecrated Portugal: there wasn’t just peace, but there was an entire restoration of the Christian order, increased canonical marriages, abundant vocations, thriving religious communities, dissolution of freemasonry and eradication of communism etc..
Can we expect this in every country after the consecration of Russia? I would have thought so. What is that but a New Christendom?
MI,
The Triumph will be a very big deal, I agree, and there will be some period of peace which will undoubtedly include a restoration of the Christian order, as you say, but that doesn’t rule out that the end times have arrived.
I agree with editor that we cannot know for sure, of course, but I’m a bit puzzled as to why you think so strongly that there are no signs of the end times.
I acknowledge such signs. But have theologians determined them to be exclusive to end times? I am not convinced of that.
MI,
You actually said “No. I don’t believe so. ” in answer to the blog question “are all the signs of the end times (of which Scripture warns) evident in the world today?”, so it is interesting that you are now acknowledging the signs.
I don’t know if theologians say they are exclusive to the end times, I don’t suppose they are but they are more obvious in our times, I’d say, than before. We’ve always had changeable weather, for example, but how often did we hear that records were being broken and this was the first time floods (in England) had been so bad and long lasting? I think that’s what’s exclusive to our times.
You’re being inquisitorial, Nicky.
It is a simple mistake.
I thought I was answering the question “Are we living in end times”, the thread title.
I affirm all that I have said. including this essential point: the signs of the end times may not be exclusive to the end times. And I said I acknowledged ‘signs’, not that I acknowledge ‘all of the signs’.
Tsunamis. Earthquakes. Poisoned air, land and sea. Wonders in the air ( UFOs, the space exploration, the Moon landings). Wars and rumours of wars. The exhortation by some of the Chief Ministers of Jesus Christ to throw away the Ten Commandments and the very words of Our Lord Himself. There is little faith in the world, as Our Lord suggested would be the case. The feeling in many people’s guts that in the world right now the Elect are being gathered together. Chapter 12 of the Apocalypse (the Woman clothed with the Sun) happened in 1917. The Abomination of Desolation (either in my view the Novus Ordo or the building of modern churches to resemble Masonic temples). The laity turning to false prophets and teachers. The apparitions of Fatima, La Salette and Akita. The words of John Paul II at Fulda. The return of the Jews to Israel.
I don’t know which Chapter we are in now but the two Beasts of Bolshevism and Nazism (or maybe western liberalism and its descent into militant atheism and the glorification of homosexuality, euthanasia and abortion) seem to me to be with us right now.
carterbencj,
I totally agree. If these aren’t the end times, I dread to think what the end times will be like!
I agree with Miles, though there is some uncertainty about how to define “end times.” However, I think there is a certain traditional convention which places those times during the reign of the Antichrist, whose reign, in turn, comes after the Consecration and the “period of peace” described at Fatima. Meanwhile, I’d say it doesn’t matter which times we are in: end times, penultimate times, or New York Times. What matters is that we are in a grave situation which requires of us, as faithful Catholics, constant prayer and penance, not looking into our crystal balls (which are quite cloudy, to say the least),
Well, you are a sceptical bunch; it’s true, of course, that we cannot know for certain if these are the end times, but there can be little doubt that all the signs are there – although as others have said, that doesn’t mean that the end of the world is imminent. I’m fairly sure, however, that the Consecration of Russia will come relatively soon and thus the promised period of peace. After that, I’m outa here 😉
Great Pretender, l loved your “end times, penultimate times or New York Times” – priceless.
N O T I C E…
Crofterlady is having problems getting her posts onto the blog, and Catholic Convert had the same problem a few days ago, so I repeat my suggestion that we all take the time to copy comments before clicking “post comment” just to be sure of being able to re-post if necessary.
May I also repeat my offer to organise avatars for those who don’t have them. See sidebar – Important Note – for details.
I like to think that Christ won’t return until many thousands of years from now. The Church is indefectible even if the pope is horrendous.
Some of those beautiful Gothic cathedrals in the heart of Europe took hundreds of years to build. Imagine the beautiful Catholic architecture of the 30th century…oh my!
Thurifer,
It’s got nothing to do with the indefectibility of the Church. Jesus told us that he would come at the end of time. It’s whether or not that time is close and by close, I don’t mean soon, but if the signs are correct, then we are on our way to the end, maybe in a few thousand years – that’s not long.
Nicky,
Correct. A Scripture teaches, in the sight of God, “A thousand years is but one day”
We must view everything in the light of eternity.
Like Bishop Fellay reminded us when Pope Francis was elected, we must do our duty in life. Like the greatest saint, the Blessed Virgin, who was not a martyr, did her duty as the Mother of God. We must pray, do penance, and not worry so much about the future. Rather we must worry about the present, and pray much for the Holy Father.
I agree we shouldn’t “worry” about the future but we are told in Scripture to read the signs of the times – that’s important, so that we can stay alert ourselves and do our duty, pray all the more perfectly.
I agree most of all with Miles. Plus I think the Catholic Monarchs will be restored. Blessed Mother will be known, honored, and loved throughout the entire world.
I’ve heard it said that this period of peace won’t come until those who caused all the destruction within the Church grow old and die because God won’t let them see the “promised land”. Of course that was just an opinion but I think it makes sense. I also think all the poor, poor children who suffered through this horrible era will definitely be blessed and consoled during Mary’s reign as Queen of All Hearts.
Those who caused all the destruction within the Church grow old and die because God won’t let them see the “promised land”.
Of course, I couldn’t know, and that is an interesting thought, but my personal view is that God will not need to wait for His enemies to grow old and die before the reign of Our Lady. I personally believe, that before the triumph of the Immaculate Heart, the world will be purified of evil men in the Three Days of Darkness. I personally believe the Three Days of Darkness will take place either very soon after, or very soon before the Consecration of Russia.
Fellow bloggers can you have a look at http://www.warningsecondcoming.com.
Chrisis,
I looked at that link you posted but it doesn’t say who runs the website. Do you know?
I would agree with Miles (that we aren’t in the end times) and with GreatPretender ( about the uncertainty of defining ‘end times’). There have been ‘end times’ for the many Ages in history, I think. Natural disasters (the deluge) and wars have ended civilizations and annihilated countries in the past. Though, it does seem like the spiritual wasteland in which we live, is growing. Unfortunately, the Church has been hamstrung by the very ones who should be defending her, and is incapable of stopping the growing wasteland.
If I’m not mistaken, most here are agreed that “the end times” can cover a long stretch of time. I would say that the crisis that the Church is in, that the world is in, today is not something that started five decades ago. Rather, the present crisis is the culmination of a three-staged revolutionary process that began at least five centuries ago with the Protestant revolution against the authority of God’s Church (religious stage), continued with the eighteenth century endarkenment, the age of Voltaire, Rousseau and co.’s revolt of Man against God (philosophical stage) and reached a bloodthirsty peak with the ongoing atheistic pulverising of religion and humanity through the Bolshevik Revolution (political stage). The satanic French revolution could slot in equally with the second and third stages.
Here are just a few random points that others might care to develop.
The apostasy box appears to be well and truly ticked at the moment. If the times we are living through are only a forerunner of the great apostasy, the real thing hardly bares thinking about.
One missing sign, however, that leads me to believe that the final end is not imminent is that the Antichrist has yet to reign. Maybe he is out there, reading this, and taking names. I don’t know. What is certain is that Pope Saint Pius X raised the question 111 years ago.
“Who can fail to see that society is at the present time, more than in any past age, suffering from a terrible and deep-rooted malady which, developing every day and eating into its inmost being, is dragging it to destruction? You understand, Venerable Brethren, what this disease is—apostasy from God… When all this is considered there is good reason to fear lest this great perversity may be as it were a foretaste, and perhaps the beginning of those evils which are reserved for the last days; and that there may be already in the world the ‘Son of Perdition’ [Antichrist] of whom the Apostle speaks.”
Pope St. Pius X, E Supremi, Encyclical On the Restoration of All Things in Christ, n. 3, 5; 1903.
What is certain is that Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary will be manifest at the end of the world. We all know about the message of Fatima. Saint Louis Marie de Montfort also makes the point in True Devotion to Mary (see pages 28-35 of the TAN books edition).
“In the second coming of Jesus Christ Mary has to be made known and revealed by the Holy Ghost in order that, through her, Jesus Christ may be known, loved and served.”
“God, then, wishes to reveal and make known, Mary, the masterpiece of His hands, in these latter times.”
The great saint then gives seven reasons.
Someone more knowledgeable on this subject might clear things up if I’m misleading people here, but I believe that before the final, final days the Gospel must be preached to all nations. Also, at the end of time, the Jewish nation will convert.
Again, peoples’ definition of “end times” might be a bit elastic, but I don’t think any of the above is necessarily at odds with what Sister Lucia said to Father Fuentes in 1957. Her words are worth repeating here.
“Father, the Most Holy Virgin did not tell me that we are in the last times of the world but She made me understand this for three reasons.”
The first reason is because She told me that the devil is in the mood for engaging in a decisive battle against the Virgin. And a decisive battle is the final battle where one side will be victorious and the other side will suffer defeat.”
“The second reason is because She said to my cousins as well as to myself that God is giving two last remedies to the world. These are the Holy Rosary and Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These are the last two remedies which signify that there will be no others.”
“The third reason is because in the plans of Divine Providence, God always, before He is about to chastise the world, exhausts all other remedies. Now, when He sees that the world pays no attention whatsoever, then, as we say in our imperfect manner of speaking, He offers us with ‘certain fear’ the last means of salvation, His Most Holy Mother. It is with ‘certain fear’ because if you despise and repulse this ultimate means we will not have any more forgiveness from Heaven because we will have committed a sin which the Gospel calls the sin against the Holy Spirit.”
This is certainly not directed at anyone here, but I suspect that some Catholics, maybe those in the religious entertainment-seekers category, have a bit of a fixation about when exactly the end of the world is going to take place. The Gospel tells us that nobody knows the hour and the day.
I have suggested to people elsewhere that they should ask themselves, hypothetically, exactly what they would do if the Pope declared, ex cathedra, that the world was going to end next Thursday. Is their answer not exactly what people should be doing anyway? Surely our constant priority is to make sure we are in a state of grace and making reparation for our sins and those of others.
This isn’t meant to be morbid, but none of us know that we will have another week. The passengers on the Malaysian plane, God have mercy on them, never thought that that would be their last journey. I’m paraphrasing and going by memory here, but I believe Father William Doyle once made the very striking point that every night before we go to sleep we should be prepared to meet our Judge in the way we would like to when the time comes for real.
Leo,
The quote you posted from Sr Lucia to her spiritual director, Fr Fuentes, is sobering:
Sister Lucia said to Father Fuentes in 1957.
“Father, the Most Holy Virgin did not tell me that we are in the last times of the world but She made me understand this for three reasons.”
The first reason is because She told me that the devil is in the mood for engaging in a decisive battle against the Virgin. And a decisive battle is the final battle where one side will be victorious and the other side will suffer defeat.”
“The second reason is because She said to my cousins as well as to myself that God is giving two last remedies to the world. These are the Holy Rosary and Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These are the last two remedies which signify that there will be no others.”
“The third reason is because in the plans of Divine Providence, God always, before He is about to chastise the world, exhausts all other remedies. Now, when He sees that the world pays no attention whatsoever, then, as we say in our imperfect manner of speaking, He offers us with ‘certain fear’ the last means of salvation, His Most Holy Mother. It is with ‘certain fear’ because if you despise and repulse this ultimate means we will not have any more forgiveness from Heaven because we will have committed a sin which the Gospel calls the sin against the Holy Spirit.” END.
That, together with the words of Pope Saint Pius X even earlier in 1903, confirms my own thoughts about the end times – we may be only in the beginning stages but the signs are there so, whether imminent or a couple of thousand years from now, we must obey the Gospel injunction to “stay awake and watch!” And that precisely because we “do not known the day nor the hour…”
As for the “missing sign” – the Anti-Christ: well, if he’s “out there taking names” I’m outa here!
Sobering thoughts indeed, Leo.
Josephine,
The site shows messages from God the Father, Jesus and his Holy Mother given to an Irish woman who uses the name Maria Divine Mercy (MDM), I do not know who helps her run the site but, as you’ll see, it is now available in many countries where special prayer groups have been set up. There are a couple of interviews with MDM where she talks about how the messages started. I am interested to see the views of fellow bloggers.
Josephine,
I clicked on the link I posted and it doesn’t take you to the intended site, I usually go via Internet Explorer, using the same address, and then choose “Latest Messages”. Apologies for the confusion but I’m afraid I’m a bit of a luddite.
Chrisis,
I’ve not had time to visit that site but please understand that we do not encourage unapproved apparitions. Never heard of this woman, so if her alleged messages are unapproved, there is no point in discussing them. I would ask you to read my comments on the Garabandal thread, Chrisis, as I think that comes across clearly there.
As I keep saying, we do not need anything except Fatima and those approved apparitions, such as Sr Elena, Quito, Akita, which dovetail with Fatima. The rest are a distraction and, as we see from Garabandal and Medjugorje, a diabolical trick to divert attention from Fatima.
I’m dashing out now but would ask others not to post links to unapproved apparition sites, and, if as I suspect, this MDM is yet another unapproved apparition, it might be wiser not to discuss it. It’s using up precious cyberspace that we can’t afford 😥
Don’t follow un-approved, un-investigated, anonymous visionaries.
I suggest that the reign of antichrist may come before the period of peace and that the consecration will bring the time of antichrist to an end. When Jesus spoke about his second coming and the tribulations prior to it, he said that all these things will happen before this generation has passed away. To help us understand which generation, he referred to the prophecy of Daniel which states
9.24 ‘Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city, for putting an end to transgression, for placing the seal on sin, for expiating crime, for introducing everlasting uprightness for setting the seal on vision and on prophecy, for anointing the holy of holies.
That would appear to be what we would expect at the second coming and if the 70 refers to 70 years then that is one generation. If so, how do we calculate the beginning of the 70 year period. Daniel states:
25 Know this, then, and understand: From the time there went out this message: “Return and rebuild Jerusalem” to the coming of an Anointed Prince, seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, …
The message to return and rebuild Jerusalem went out in 1947 with the UN mandate to give the Jews a homeland and 70 years after that is 2017 i.e. 100 years (2 jubilees) after the message of Fatima.
12.4 ‘But you, Daniel, must keep these words secret and keep the book sealed until the time of the End.
Remember in the Glory be prayer we finish with “as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen. We do not know for certain that the world will end with the Coming of Jesus but we can expect it to be greatly changed i.e. we will have peace over the whole world.
Charles McEwan,
I always took it that the words “world without end” referred to the next world, not this one. Our Lord has told us the world will end, when He comes to judge the world so I don’t see how you can say that we do not know for certain that the world will end with the Coming of Jesus – we’re told that in Matthew’s Gospel, Parable of the Sheep & Goats.
Interesting comments.
Those who think we are not living through the times foretold by St. John in the Book of the Apocalypse rightly remind us of the period of peace that is to follow the eventual Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
However, a close reading of all the visions reported by Sr. Lucia after Fatima I believe show that this period of peace was not to be very long in duration – certainly not the one thousand years mentioned by some commentators here.
We also have to factor in the Great Chastisement which will come IF Russia is not consecrated. AND we should remember that Our Lady’s words, whether at Akita, Fatima or elsewhere are all conditional: I tend to forget this myself.
In general, the signs are not just ‘bad’ but ‘awful’: when the night is blackest, the dawn is not far off and the best dawn we could ever have is one lit by the Coming of Our Lord.
Maybe we should just hope that we’ll be found on the right side of the barricades and leave it at that. Almighty God knows the time.
Benedict,
The reference to the one thousand years came from me, quoting Scripture that “one thousand years is but a day in the sight of the Lord”
In other words, nobody can say precisely when the end of the world will be and that, moreover, what seems like a long period of time to us, is not a long period of time in the light of eternity.
Leo has quoted Pope John Paul II at Fulda in Germany in 1980 effectively saying that the Third Secret would be terrifying and would encourage Communist expansion, but that we should read Apocalypse 7-13 (which is about the end times) in order to know all we need to know about the Third Secret.
Talk about “take the hint”.
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