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LDSBOB
Guest
I know that Jesus said that only His Father knows the end times in the Bible but that was 2000 years ago. To say that Jesus does not know now is silly. Of course Jesus knows now when He will come.
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system
Guest
Why in the world is people still confuse about end of times.
Look at the Jews. If they’re not converting en masse to the Catholic Church than it ain’t gonna happen!
CCC- 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”.
Look at the Jews. If they’re not converting en masse to the Catholic Church than it ain’t gonna happen!
CCC- 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”.
C
Calbreese
Guest
19:11 THE HEAVENS WERE OPENED, AND AS I LOOKED ON, A WHITE HORSE APPEARED; ITS RIDER WAS CALLED THE “FAITHFUL AND TRUE.” JUSTICE IS HIS STANDARD IN PASSING JUDGEMENT AND WAGING WAR. 19:12 HIS EYES BLAZED LIKE FIRE, AND ON HIS HEAD WERE MANY DIADEMS. INSCRIBED ON HIS PERSON WAS A NAME KNOWN TO NO ONE BUT HIMSELF. 19:13 HE WORE A CLOAK THAT HAD BEEN DIPPED IN BLOOD, AND HIS NAME WAS THE WORD OF GOD. 19:14 THE ARMIES OF HEAVEN WERE BEHIND HIM RIDING WHITE HORSES AND DRESSED IN FINE LINEN, PURE AND WHITE. This is a part of Revelation and may represent (the Church is reveiwing it) the time when “Conversion of the Jews” will occur. Would the Jews look up, see this and not be converted? Our second coming, their first? The Conversion, the Apostasy (general falling away from the Church) and the Unveiling of the Beast are the three requirements that have to happen before Judgement Day, which no one but God knows. Eternal Wisdom at work. Wow… IHS Daryl
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mommi2four
Guest
we can never tell. it is in God’s hands
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AmyS
Guest
Yep, I agree, only God knows!
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bones_IV
Guest
The Dead Bishop:
Where do you get your documentation from? The future is only known to God! He can reveal future events but as a sign of repentance. As far the Mayan mystics go, they have no credibility what so ever. Their prophecies do not have a message of repentance. How can you possibly know what year the world will end? Doesn’t the bible specifically say, “The Father reserved it to himself.” There’s no way you can believe in the Catholic faith and believe in the mayan prophecies, because it sure sounds that way. As with the Mayan prophecies those mystics are way out in left field and not to my knowledge approved by the Church.
The is no revelation outside of what God has revealed to us in the Churches teaching and magisterium passed down from Jesus himself to the apostles down to their successors. The prophecies of those of Fatima and such are private revelations and not a part of our faith and therefore one doesn’t have to believe in them. Public revelation eneded 100 A. D. with the Apocalypse (spelling?).
Padre Pio “Don’t worry, work and pray.”
The Dead Bishop,
Where do you get your documentation from? The future is only known to God! He can reveal future events but as a sign of repentance. As far the Mayan mystics go, they have no credibility what so ever. Their prophecies do not have a message of repentance. How can you possibly know what year the world will end? Doesn’t the bible specifically say, “The Father reserved it to himself.” There’s no way you can believe in the Catholic faith and believe in the mayan prophecies, because it sure sounds that way. As with the Mayan prophecies those mystics are way out in left field and not to my knowledge approved by the Church.
The is no revelation outside of what God has revealed to us in the Churches teaching and magisterium passed down from Jesus himself to the apostles down to their successors. The prophecies of those of Fatima and such are private revelations and not a part of our faith and therefore one doesn’t have to believe in them. Public revelation eneded 100 A. D. with the Apocalypse (spelling?).
Padre Pio “Don’t worry, work and pray.”
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ICXCNIKA
Guest
Actually, we are past the end times.
This is the sequel.
This is the sequel.
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JackPaul
Guest
I hope to be dead and in heaven long before it happens. Maybe God will have me ride down in the clouds with him and together we can kick some booty. I know that I want to be on the side that’s winning this one.
Peace
Peace
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hecd2
Guest
The local universe has existed for a bit more than 10^10 years and it’s just beginning. It’s just taken its first breath. By the time the last black hole has evaporated and all in the universe becomes homogeneous dark stasis, the universe will have existed for 10^150 years. That’s a long long time. Surely long enough for the Sox to win at least one World Series! …or a second if they beat the Cardinals.
Or maybe it’s not long enough. We’ll see.
Alec
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mayra_hart
Guest
Are we living in the “last days”?
Are we, as many Christians believe, living in the last days? In fact, the “last days” refers not only to the “end of time,” but to the last two thousand years. Scripture teaches that the Incarnation ushered in “the last days.” According to Hebrews 1:1-2, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”
At Pentecost, Peter preached that “the last days” had arrived, in fulfillment of the words of the prophet Joel: “For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, that I will pour forth my spirit on all mankind . . .” (Acts 2:15-17; cf. Joel 2:28-32).
“The last days” or “the end times,” properly understood, refers to the time of the New Covenant, the gathering together of God’s people in the Church, which is “on earth, the seed and the beginning of the kingdom” (CCC 567, 669; Lumen Gentium) . The Holy Spirit, the “soul of the Church,” has been — and is being — poured out, because of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ:
The Holy Spirit is at work with the Father and the Son from the beginning to the completion of the plan for our salvation. But in these “end times,” ushered in by the Son’s redeeming Incarnation, the Spirit is revealed and given, recognized and welcomed as a person. Now can this divine plan, accomplished in Christ, the firstborn and head of the new creation, be embodied in mankind by the outpouring of the Spirit: as the Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting (CCC 686). This understanding of the “last days” differs from that of those who believe in the Rapture. Catholics agree that there will definitely be an “end of time” and that history as we know it will one day be complete. But we also recognize that each of us will face the end of our time on earth, and that this should, in many ways, concern us more than the end of the world (see CCC 1007).
Are we, as many Christians believe, living in the last days? In fact, the “last days” refers not only to the “end of time,” but to the last two thousand years. Scripture teaches that the Incarnation ushered in “the last days.” According to Hebrews 1:1-2, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”
At Pentecost, Peter preached that “the last days” had arrived, in fulfillment of the words of the prophet Joel: “For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, that I will pour forth my spirit on all mankind . . .” (Acts 2:15-17; cf. Joel 2:28-32).
“The last days” or “the end times,” properly understood, refers to the time of the New Covenant, the gathering together of God’s people in the Church, which is “on earth, the seed and the beginning of the kingdom” (CCC 567, 669; Lumen Gentium) . The Holy Spirit, the “soul of the Church,” has been — and is being — poured out, because of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ:
The Holy Spirit is at work with the Father and the Son from the beginning to the completion of the plan for our salvation. But in these “end times,” ushered in by the Son’s redeeming Incarnation, the Spirit is revealed and given, recognized and welcomed as a person. Now can this divine plan, accomplished in Christ, the firstborn and head of the new creation, be embodied in mankind by the outpouring of the Spirit: as the Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting (CCC 686). This understanding of the “last days” differs from that of those who believe in the Rapture. Catholics agree that there will definitely be an “end of time” and that history as we know it will one day be complete. But we also recognize that each of us will face the end of our time on earth, and that this should, in many ways, concern us more than the end of the world (see CCC 1007).
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mayra_hart
Guest
Church authority and Bible prophecy
How should we understand the Bible’s teaching on the “last days”? For Catholics, the Bible is truly the Word of God, and when the Word of God says that the Church is the Body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:22-33) and the “pillar and support of truth” (1 Timothy 3:15), it points to a key principle: the task of authentically interpreting Scripture belongs to the Church. And the Church has a certain structure, based on Christ’s own choosing of apostles and granting them authority: "For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God (CCC 119).
This does not mean that the Catholic Church has definitively interpreted every single passage of Scripture or that individual Catholics cannot study Scripture for themselves. On the contrary, the Church has definitively interpreted less than a dozen passages, while encouraging Catholics to read the Bible in light of the “living Tradition of the whole Church” (CCC 113).
The issue of authority in interpreting Scripture is important because so much of what passes for “Biblical prophecy” today is really pseudo-Biblical guesswork, noteworthy for its use of sloppy methods, hazy conjecture, and overt sensationalism. Many “prophecy teachers,” especially in the last three decades, have taken passages of Scripture and applied them to current events and people with little or no regard for historical context or original meaning of the texts. This has resulted, for example, in the Antichrist being identified as the Pope, Hitler, Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, Saddam Hussein, and other, lesser-known people.
The puzzling and sometimes shocking images of Revelation are interpreted in clever, bizarre, and often laughable ways. The mark of the beast (Rev. 13:16-18) is seen in bar codes, credit cards, computer chips and laser beams. Most Catholics who encounter such misinterpretations usually scratch their heads and steer clear of the biblical books that deal with apocalyptic themes, Daniel and Revelation. They are content to let their non-Catholic friends battle over these confusing matters. This is unfortunate for a couple of reasons. First, Catholics should study all of Scripture, including difficult books such as Daniel and Revelation, because God gave it to the Church for that purpose. Second, the Catholic Church offers two thousand years of reflection and study of Scripture, resulting in a rich, balanced, and nuanced understanding of the whole Bible. If the Catholic Church has the authority that Catholics believe she possesses, then they need to take seriously her understanding of Scripture. At the very least, doing so will help them avoid the serious misunderstandings of some other Christians and will equip Catholics to discuss these misunderstandings with them.
How should we understand the Bible’s teaching on the “last days”? For Catholics, the Bible is truly the Word of God, and when the Word of God says that the Church is the Body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:22-33) and the “pillar and support of truth” (1 Timothy 3:15), it points to a key principle: the task of authentically interpreting Scripture belongs to the Church. And the Church has a certain structure, based on Christ’s own choosing of apostles and granting them authority: "For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God (CCC 119).
This does not mean that the Catholic Church has definitively interpreted every single passage of Scripture or that individual Catholics cannot study Scripture for themselves. On the contrary, the Church has definitively interpreted less than a dozen passages, while encouraging Catholics to read the Bible in light of the “living Tradition of the whole Church” (CCC 113).
The issue of authority in interpreting Scripture is important because so much of what passes for “Biblical prophecy” today is really pseudo-Biblical guesswork, noteworthy for its use of sloppy methods, hazy conjecture, and overt sensationalism. Many “prophecy teachers,” especially in the last three decades, have taken passages of Scripture and applied them to current events and people with little or no regard for historical context or original meaning of the texts. This has resulted, for example, in the Antichrist being identified as the Pope, Hitler, Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, Saddam Hussein, and other, lesser-known people.
The puzzling and sometimes shocking images of Revelation are interpreted in clever, bizarre, and often laughable ways. The mark of the beast (Rev. 13:16-18) is seen in bar codes, credit cards, computer chips and laser beams. Most Catholics who encounter such misinterpretations usually scratch their heads and steer clear of the biblical books that deal with apocalyptic themes, Daniel and Revelation. They are content to let their non-Catholic friends battle over these confusing matters. This is unfortunate for a couple of reasons. First, Catholics should study all of Scripture, including difficult books such as Daniel and Revelation, because God gave it to the Church for that purpose. Second, the Catholic Church offers two thousand years of reflection and study of Scripture, resulting in a rich, balanced, and nuanced understanding of the whole Bible. If the Catholic Church has the authority that Catholics believe she possesses, then they need to take seriously her understanding of Scripture. At the very least, doing so will help them avoid the serious misunderstandings of some other Christians and will equip Catholics to discuss these misunderstandings with them.
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mayra_hart
Guest
**Interpreting the book of Revelation **
Interpretations of the book of Revelation are, undoubtedly, among the most hotly debated aspects of the Bible. The Catholic Church has not officially interpreted the difficult passages in Revelation. But various Catholic scholars have commented on them, and have debated the various interpretations.8
There are four main approaches to the book of Revelation: futurist, preterist, historicist and idealist. Futurists believe that most or all of the book of Revelation has yet to be fulfilled; preterists say that most or all of it was fulfilled in the first century; historicists claim that events described in Revelation have been transpiring for the last two thousand years; and idealists believe that the book of Revelation is allegorical and has little or nothing to do with historical events.9
The Catholic Church allows a wide range of interpretive possibilities, including forms of futurism, preterism, historicism and idealism. For example, a Catholic may believe the book of Revelation describes the conflict of good and evil as experienced by individual Christians or the Church (idealism), and makes prophetic utterances about events still to occur (futurism), and also refers to events that have already occurred, either in the early Church or later Church history (preterism and historicism). Catholic flexibility here is based on the fact that Scripture, inspired by God, often has different, yet complementary, meanings.
From early times, the Church, following the examples of Christ and the Apostles (i.e., Lk 24:25-27; 1 Cor 10:1-4), understood Scripture to have different senses, a literal and a spiritual sense (CCC 115). As the Catechism explains, the spiritual sense is always rooted in the literal sense: “The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: ‘All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal’” (CCC 116).
A common misconception is that Catholics interpret Scripture — especially the book of Revelation — “symbolically,” while Evangelicals interpret it “literally.” This has often been used to explain why the Catholic Church rejects an earthly, thousand-year reign of Christ. Yet few “literalists” bother to interpret literally other images in Revelation, such as the Beast, the dragon, the locusts, and the four horsemen.
A last word on the last days In conclusion, it can be seen that the Catholic Church says relatively little about future events leading up to Christ’s Second Coming. Many of her teachings are rejections (either implicit or explicit), not affirmations, of particular beliefs such as the dispensational dichotomy between the Church and Israel, the “secret” Rapture, and the earthly millennial kingdom. What she does teach is quite clear, as well as succinct: there will be a Second Coming, a time of trial which the Church must endure, an Antichrist, a conversion of Israel to Christ, a definitive judgment of all people, and the fulfillment of the Kingdom that has already begun in the Church. Within those parameters, Catholics may freely roam, search the Scriptures, and seek to better understand the Word of God.
Interpretations of the book of Revelation are, undoubtedly, among the most hotly debated aspects of the Bible. The Catholic Church has not officially interpreted the difficult passages in Revelation. But various Catholic scholars have commented on them, and have debated the various interpretations.8
There are four main approaches to the book of Revelation: futurist, preterist, historicist and idealist. Futurists believe that most or all of the book of Revelation has yet to be fulfilled; preterists say that most or all of it was fulfilled in the first century; historicists claim that events described in Revelation have been transpiring for the last two thousand years; and idealists believe that the book of Revelation is allegorical and has little or nothing to do with historical events.9
The Catholic Church allows a wide range of interpretive possibilities, including forms of futurism, preterism, historicism and idealism. For example, a Catholic may believe the book of Revelation describes the conflict of good and evil as experienced by individual Christians or the Church (idealism), and makes prophetic utterances about events still to occur (futurism), and also refers to events that have already occurred, either in the early Church or later Church history (preterism and historicism). Catholic flexibility here is based on the fact that Scripture, inspired by God, often has different, yet complementary, meanings.
From early times, the Church, following the examples of Christ and the Apostles (i.e., Lk 24:25-27; 1 Cor 10:1-4), understood Scripture to have different senses, a literal and a spiritual sense (CCC 115). As the Catechism explains, the spiritual sense is always rooted in the literal sense: “The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: ‘All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal’” (CCC 116).
A common misconception is that Catholics interpret Scripture — especially the book of Revelation — “symbolically,” while Evangelicals interpret it “literally.” This has often been used to explain why the Catholic Church rejects an earthly, thousand-year reign of Christ. Yet few “literalists” bother to interpret literally other images in Revelation, such as the Beast, the dragon, the locusts, and the four horsemen.
A last word on the last days In conclusion, it can be seen that the Catholic Church says relatively little about future events leading up to Christ’s Second Coming. Many of her teachings are rejections (either implicit or explicit), not affirmations, of particular beliefs such as the dispensational dichotomy between the Church and Israel, the “secret” Rapture, and the earthly millennial kingdom. What she does teach is quite clear, as well as succinct: there will be a Second Coming, a time of trial which the Church must endure, an Antichrist, a conversion of Israel to Christ, a definitive judgment of all people, and the fulfillment of the Kingdom that has already begun in the Church. Within those parameters, Catholics may freely roam, search the Scriptures, and seek to better understand the Word of God.
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robert_connor
Guest
In a hundred fifteen years from now, not one person who is living now will be alive then…so for us it is the end of the world…the question is are we ready
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Lisa4Catholics
Guest
Have you ever wondered if this was refering to the Eucharist?Before I get flamed it is only a thought.
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SWTHRT
Guest
None of us know when the world will end. I am sometimes amazed that the world still exists when I see all of the immorality, etc. I wouldn’t be surprised if God ended the world soon and said “Enough is enough”!
Karen
Karen
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Gracie2004
Guest
We have been in the end times, since the moment of the death of Christ. It has been on going. Everyone of us will experience the end times at the moment of OUR death. As for the second return? Christ told his followers not to worry about it, but to live a life of righteousness, so why even have a post about it? Isn’t it a useless waste of time, when we could be doing something more?
Someone said we Catholics were tired of carrying the cross for cafeteria catholics? (I think it was on this thread). I have to tell you, I would carry as many crosses as I could bear if it would save ONE soul from condemnation…wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t you do as our Lord admonished us to help our brothers and sisters as much as possible…“love your neighbor as yourself…” Don’t see much there about “Oh, unless of course your neighbor is a cafeteria catholic, then you don’t have to carry his/her cross…”
Come on, let’s try at least to live the life our Lord left for us to life.
Gracie
Someone said we Catholics were tired of carrying the cross for cafeteria catholics? (I think it was on this thread). I have to tell you, I would carry as many crosses as I could bear if it would save ONE soul from condemnation…wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t you do as our Lord admonished us to help our brothers and sisters as much as possible…“love your neighbor as yourself…” Don’t see much there about “Oh, unless of course your neighbor is a cafeteria catholic, then you don’t have to carry his/her cross…”
Come on, let’s try at least to live the life our Lord left for us to life.
Gracie
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