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normdplume
Guest
My thanks to everyone for the study guide references. I’ve already gone through eight study guides (ugh!) in doing my research, five of which are explicitly Catholic interpretations. I went back through my notes with a fine tooth comb and found that there is definite disagreement among the Catholic books. Some suggest the Great Apostasy is a period that precedes the coming of the Two Witnesses, who bring about a revival of the Church and the conversion of the Jews. One (The End of the World - What Catholics Believe) is very explicit that the Great Apostasy is part of the Great Tribulation. Because so little of Revelation is explicitly interpreted by the Church, I’ve found that Catholic interpretations vary widely. All are consistent, however, that the Two Witnesses bring about the conversion of the Jews, which hasn’t happened yet. So either the Two Witnesses (Moses and Elijah, or Elijah and Enoch) have yet to appear, or they represent the Church itself, working to bring about that conversion. Assuming the Great Apostasy and revival precede the coming of the Antichrist, then I would expect there to be a second apostasy during the Great Tribulation of those whose faith is weak. Either way, God is in control and allows the Antichrist to persecute the Church, probably as a test of the faith of self-professed Christians.