For those who have asked, here is our third installment. Previous posts were Fatima, Vatican II and the Chastisement and The Seven Trumpets. Like many others in these dark and confused times, I read (and reread!) the Apocalypse and books of Catholic prophecy by approved Catholic authors. Today, we have the benefit of a perspective that includes more history than that which was available to previous exegetes of the Apocalypse. In particular, we have the Message of Fatima, from the Queen of Heaven herself, plus the benefit of what we have observed and learned about the Second Vatican Council and its effects on the Church and the world. And with every passing day, Pope Francis and his cohort make the apostasy of the faith ever clearer.
In this series of posts, we will look at a few passages from St. John’s Apocalypse in the light of recent history. For our purposes, the term ‘recent’ refers to the events a little before Our Lady of the Rosary’s visits to Fatima in 1917 and on up to the present day, that is to the Synod and its sequelae. I am no expert in this, but simply offer these thoughts as an opportunity to get a discussion going. From what readers tell me, there is a real need for this, and if we can at least get people discussing it, I hope we can help spread the message of Fatima and prepare for what is to come. If you can improve on this, please be sure that I will support you, especially with my prayers. I do welcome all helpful criticism and contributions to the discussion. My email is in the sidebar.
APOCALYPSE CHAPTER 8
[1] And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven, as it were for half an hour. [2] And I saw seven angels standing in the presence of God; and there were given to them seven trumpets. [3] And another angel came, and stood before the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which is before the throne of God. [4] And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel. [5] And the angel took the censer, and filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it on the earth, and there were thunders and voices and lightnings, and a great earthquake.
[6] And the seven angels, who had the seven trumpets, prepared themselves to sound the trumpet. [7] And the first angel sounded the trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mingled with blood, and it was cast on the earth, and the third part of the earth was burnt up, and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. [8] And the second angel sounded the trumpet: and as it were a great mountain, burning with fire, was cast into the sea, and the third part of the sea became blood: [9] And the third part of those creatures died, which had life in the sea, and the third part of the ships was destroyed. [10] And the third angel sounded the trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, burning as it were a torch, and it fell on the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters:
[11] And the name of the star is called Wormwood. And the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. [12] And the fourth angel sounded the trumpet, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars, so that the third part of them was darkened, and the day did not shine for a third part of it, and the night in like manner. [13] And I beheld, and heard the voice of one eagle flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice: Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth: by reason of the rest of the voices of the three angels, who are yet to sound the trumpet.
Father Herman Kramer in his Book of Destiny explains that the angels exemplify the invisible decrees of God, “for they later at fore-ordained moments blow the trumpets … to announce the beginning of scourges that punish infidelity. … The trumpets announce the advent of judgements. The prophets call themselves God’s trumpets when they announce the coming judgements, wars and enemies.”
So, let’s go with that reasonable interpretation. Throughout salvation history, God makes us aware of His mighty justice when we have presumed against His mercy for a prolonged period. As willful children who continue to provoke their Father, mankind occasionally must be reminded that God is just as much as He is merciful. These days, the excessive emphasis on God’s “nonjudgmental” mercy is actually a form of hubris, a prideful presumption of our “preciousness” in assuming that we will face no consequences of our defiance against God.
In an earlier post, Seven Trumpets, I explained the relationship between Pope Paul VI, Vatican II and the Seven Trumpets of the Apocalypse. In verse 3, we find,
“And another angel came, and stood before the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which is before the throne of God.” Although Father Kramer here interprets the golden altar, “typifies a grand institution in the Church, the religious orders, especially the contemplative life.”
I do not see it so, it appears to be exactly what it says, a golden (i.e., perfectly pure) altar, indeed the altar of the Sacrifice of the Mass, the unbloody sacrifice of Calvary and the magnificent Sacrament of His love, the Holy Eucharist, God with us. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the perfectly pure golden altar, whereon all our holy saints have offered their lives as an oblation (incense) to the Eternal Father. Father Kramer says of this passage, “The golden altar, the fire upon it, the incense and the golden censer are all symbols of the religious life, the life of prayer.” I believe It is more correct to see the symbolism here as the oblations of the saints in union with, and based on, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. While Father K. emphasizes the offerings of the saints, he overlooks the most important part, that is that the oblations of the saints are based upon union with Christ in the most Blessed Sacrament. Father Kramer could never have anticipated the wholesale degradation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass or the horrible blasphemies against Our Lord in His sacrament of love that have resulted from the disastrous Council.
In verses 4 and 5 we have,
“And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it on the earth, and there were thunders and voices and lightnings, and a great earthquake.” So the saints offer prayers to God, but then, the Angel fills the censer with fire and then casts the fire upon the earth, causing thunders, lightning and a great earthquake. Note that when the Angel fills the censer, he puts in no incense. This indicates no prayers. Father Kramer earlier explained that the fire represents both love and hatred.
And so, this predicts the effects of the post-conciliar “reforms” , i.e., that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will become neglected, debased, while saintly souls will diminish in number and God’s Angel of Justice will convict the world of these offenses by casting fire (punishment for disobedience) on the earth, resulting in “thunders, voices and lightnings and a great earthquake”. In this context, these signs show a warning of God’s judgement soon to follow. Note that the order of these images is reversed from that of Chapter 4, verse 5. The reversal is significant, as the first instance is positive, and this is the contrary. There seems to be a consensus that the earthquake represents the overthrow of an existing order; it presages the impending overthrow of the right order of the Church. Thus, this first Angel is warning of the falling away of the faith, of the changes that were being planned long before Vatican II was convoked.
In verse 7,
“And the first Angel sounded the trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mingled with blood, and it was cast on the earth, and the third part of the earth was burnt up, and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.” Father Berry in his “The Apocalypse of St. John” explains that the fire is a chastisement from heaven for disobedience, and the fire mingled with blood represents wars and revolutions, which marked the 20th century perhaps more than ever before. The hail, blood and fire represent immense bloodshed, and it appears to indicate the violence of the abortions of hundreds of millions of innocent babies before they could be baptised. Within just a few years after Vatican II, abortion swept over the earth. Without the Consecration, Russia has been unable to convert and today, there are two abortions for every live birth in Russia!
The hail is a sign of judgement for heresy, and it is clear that heresy both contributed to, and resulted from Vatican II. The death and destruction of the trees and grass represents the destruction of fertility, both material and spiritual, caused by this scourge of disobedience.
Verses 8 and 9,
“And the second angel sounded the trumpet: and as it were a great mountain, burning with fire, was cast into the sea, and the third part of the sea became blood: And the third part of those creatures died, which had life in the sea, and the third part of the ships was destroyed.” This echoes Old Testament passages where Babylon is referred to. In this case, it indicates Islam, as Father Kramer rightly intuited long before the current resurgence of this ancient heresy. Islam is drenching the world with blood and spreading like a diabolical firestorm.
In identifying Islam as the second scourge, Father K. explains that Islam, “is a religion of crude materialism … It not only brought spiritual death to the regions it conquered, but a bloody death to all who opposed its progress.” The ships destroyed are Catholic churches destroyed by the Islamists.
In verses 10 and 11, the third Angel.
“And the third angel sounded the trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, burning as it were a torch, and it fell on the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters: And the name of the star is called Wormwood. And the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.” This third scourge affects the divine institution of the Church. A great star falls from heaven, and is not extinguished but burns, scourging the the “fountains of waters”, indicating damage to the source, in this case the source of the rivers of supernatural life in the Church, the sacraments. Note that it does not mix with the waters, it transforms them, changing the very nature of the sacraments into something bitter, which destroys the souls of many. This indicates the loss of faith throughout the church through the corruption of the Mass and the sacraments, the corruption of the liturgy, and of catechesis.
WORMWOOD
Who is Wormwood? In Chapter 1, 20, John explains that the stars are Angels of the churches, thus, wormwood is a Bishop, actually, a great Bishop, the Bishop of Rome, the Pontiff. This great star was Pope John XXIII, who defied of the command of God. Failing to obey our Lady’s wishes, he not only refused to perform the Consecration, he also refused to reveal the secret which Our Blessed Mother had expressly ordered the Pope to reveal in 1960. This Bishop does not lose his office when apostatizing but falling, he causes others to fail in their faith and he would lose the light with which to enlighten the world. The name “Wormwood” indicates apostasy, as has been noted of the unreleased Third Secret of Fatima, which refers to an apostasy which begins at the top. In Jeremiah, wormwood is threatened as a food for false prophets and perverse priests, especially those who encouraged evildoers in sin. Doesn’t that seem appropriate for these post-conciliar prelates?
Father Kramer goes on to explain that wormwood symbolizes perverting the sources of grace and the spiritual life into poison and bitterness. By perverting the faith, the wormwood of modernism (and now neo-modernism) let loose on the Church by disobedient Pope John XXIII established a schism in the Church, but this time the schismatics were the modernist revolutionaries who assumed control of the structures of the visible church, casting out faithful Catholics. The revolutionaries had the visible structures, but the faithful traditional Catholics kept the faith.
From Father Kramer,
“Wormwood will be the refreshment of all bishops and priests who mislead the people by false standards and practice injustice against faithful pastors. Selfish ambition and advancement in the church for earthly gain is their object. This fallen star changes the sources of spiritual life into wormwood, into sources of spiritual death by disobedience, pride and ambition. … He turns truth into falsehood.”
Father believes this portion to refer to the Greek Schism, but as we know, biblical prophecies can have more than one meaning, refer to more than one instance. The Greek Schism was a serious source of error and spiritual death in the Church, but the modernist revolution within the Church, taking over the structures of the church, is far more serious.
Verse 12:
“And the fourth angel sounded the trumpet, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars, so that the third part of them was darkened, and the day did not shine for a third part of it, and the night in like manner.” This indicates the lights of heaven dimmed, which is a clear reference to the disastrous results of the Second Vatican Council and its deleterious results on the Church. The beauty and fecundity of the Church is nearly destroyed. The true Church is reduced to an embattled and weakened Remnant. In the Old Testament, both Isaiah and Ezekiel use the description of the darkening of the sun, moon and stars, and here it indicates a calamity befalling the Church, dimming her glory and ushering in a rapid decline in her ability to enlighten the world.
We conclude with verse 13:
“And I beheld, and heard the voice of one eagle flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice: Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth: by reason of the rest of the voices of the three angels, who are yet to sound the trumpet.”
Think on this for next time, coments welcome.
Remember – Our Lady needs us to obey: First Saturdays of Reparation, daily rosary, at least 5 mysteries, wear her brown scapular and live your Total Consecration to her Immaculate Heart, offering daily duties in reparation and for the conversion of poor sinners.
† Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of our hearts, Mother of the Church, do thou offer to the Eternal Father the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the conversion of poor sinners, especially our Pontiff.
† Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy kingdom come! Viva Cristo Rey!
† St. Joseph, protect us, protect our families, protect our priests.
† St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
~ by evensong for love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, King.
Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thine enemies!