As We Await the Blessed Hope: A Catholic Study of the End Times

By Mark Kyriakos

-Too many books are published today with too little rigor. This is a book that has been rigorously researched and written. In a world that often seems full of the shallow and superficial, it is deep and filled with important insights. It is not for everyone, but those that make the effort will be richly rewarded.

Matthew Kelly, New York Times bestselling author of Rediscover Catholicism

-Mark Kyriakos has written a book on Bible prophecy that is most unique among Catholic scholars today. It is thoroughly biblical and Catholic. It is both scholarly and approachable to read for a serious student of Scripture. I welcome it as a fresh offering at a time when we usually read treatments of this topic from a predominantly non-Catholic perspective.

John Michael Talbot, Founder and Minister General of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity

-Its impossible to understand the whole range of Gods plan and indeed, the Gospel message itself without an understanding of the Second Coming and Final Judgment. I am grateful for the immense work that Mark Kyriakos has put into this book and for his effort to make these valuable resources available to a wider audience.

Ralph Martin, S.T.D. President, Renewal Ministries

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Dec 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781491774878

Mark Kyriakos

Mark Kyriakos attended Fordham and Columbia Universities. In 1991 he had an encounter with Jesus Christ that gave his life a new direction. He matriculated at Franciscan University in 1996, where he earned a Masters in theology. He lives in Ohio with his wife and four children. He can be reached at [e-mail].

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Copyright © 2015 Mark Kyriakos.

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ISBN: 978-1-4917-7485-4 (sc)

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Table of Contents

Abbreviations

Foreword

Introduction

Diagrams

Chapter 1 Biblical Prophecy and Interpretation

The Word of God, Jesus

Prophecy: Fulfilled Substantially and Symbolically

Sacred Tradition and the Church

The Senses of Scripture

Obedience and Understanding

Biblical Eschatology and the Prophet

Chapter 2 The Seventy Weeks

Daniel and the Skeptics

Daniel, the Seventy Years, and the Great Prophecy of Seventy Weeks

The Seventy Weeks as Historically Fulfilled Prophecy (Solar Years)

The Seventy Weeks as Historically Fulfilled Prophecy (Lunar Years)

The Christian Fundamentalist Approach to the Seventy Weeks

Chapter 3 The Antichrist

The Image of a Man

Christ’s Kingdom

The Life-Span of Man’s Dominion——666 Years——and the Vindication of Christ

The Day of the Lord and the Temporal Closures of the Two Covenants

The Beasts From the Sea

The Antichrist

The Great Apostasy, the Lie and the Temple of God

The Man of Sin and the Son of Perdition

He Who Now Restrains

Chapter 4 The False Prophet

The Land

A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Sorcery and the Image of the Beast

The Mark of the Beast

The False Prophet and Armageddon

A True Bride and a False Bride

The Great Harlot

The City of Seven Hills

The Great City Which Reigns Over the Land

Chapter 5 The Olivet Discourse

The Discourse by way of Review

The Setting

The Labor Pains

Other Proximate Signs and World Evangelization

The Great Tribulation

Cosmic Signs

Chapter 6 The Days of Noah and Lot

The Days: Past and to Come

The Explosion of the Occult

The Breakdown of the Family

Sexual Perversion

Violence

Materialism

The Corruption of Thought

Technological Development

Rapid Population Increase

The People Were Warned

People Were Saved

Chapter 7 The Israel of God

Israel and the Church: A Mystery

A Plan Born in the Father’s Heart

From the Deluge to Babel and Abram

God’s Catholic Israel

A Fullness of Gentiles

Ephraim and Judah

The Kingdom of Israel

The Israel of God

The Reunification of Ephraim and Judah

The Fullness of Judah

Chapter 8 The Woman

Mary is a Type of the Church

Mother of God

Perpetual Virginity

Immaculate Conception

Assumption

Co-Redeemers in Christ: the Maternal Mediation of the Woman

Chapter 9 The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit

Times of Grace, Times of Trial

The First Pentecosts

The First Christian Pentecost

A Sign to Unbelievers

The Modern Pentecostal Renewal

Christian Conversion/Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Chapter 10 The Patience and Faith of the Saints

The Mystery of Suffering

Broken For You: Completing What is Lacking in the Afflictions of Christ

The Witness of the Daily Sacrifice

Destined for Captivity, Destined for the Sword

Until the Number Killed is Complete: the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart

When the Tree is Dry in the Springtime of the Church’s Holy Week

Chapter 11 The Rapture and the Millennium

Simple Truths, Complex Heresies

The Last Day

Immediately After the Tribulation of Those Days

The Last Trumpet and a Thief in the Night

The Millennium

The Final Unleashing of Evil: Satan Released From Prison, Gog and Magog

Chapter 12 Conclusion

A Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, His Own Special People

A Place You do not Wish to go

The End is not Annihilation

The Judge and the Ark of (Every Man’s) Eschatology

The Long Defeat and Final Victory

-As We Await the Blessed Hope by Mark Kyriakos is a wonderful example of St. Anselm of Canterbury’s definition of theology – faith seeking understanding. Written from a Catholic perspective but not only for a Catholic audience, the author takes his readers on a wonderful, understandable journey to a richer comprehension of God’s plan for the future. Through biblical exegesis and many references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, among countless other primary sources, the reader comes to see the unfolding plan of God through salvation history and where we are headed. In touching on such mysteries as the place of suffering, and the role of the saints, the author helps us to prepare our hearts for the End Times which are to come, not with fear and trembling, but with joyful hope and trusting confidence in God’s great mercy. I recommend this book to all seeking to make sense of the world in which we are living today.

Very Rev. Joseph G. Roesch, MIC, STL,

Vicar General – Marians of the Immaculate Conception

-The End Times have always been a fascinating subject for people, whether Christian or not. Much has been written and preached and prophesized about the end of time, the end of the world and the return of Christ – when will He come back, when will time end, what will be the signs that will announce the end. These questions go back to the time of Christ, and we even find the disciples putting their concerns to Jesus.

Because there is such intense interest in the End Times, much speculation arises and various interpretations are given to the facts that the Scriptures present. It becomes difficult to distinguish between the known and the speculation, the facts and the exaggerations, the fear and the truth. When dealing with the End Times, it seems that emotion tends to obscure facts.

This is a book that presents a balanced and scripturally accurate presentation of the End Times. It is orthodox, Catholic and faithful to what is authoritatively taught in the Scriptures and by the Church.

Well researched and well presented, it is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to look more deeply into the teachings of Jesus and the Church on the final destiny of the world as we know it.

It is recommended reading and study for thinking Christians.

Fr. Richard McAlear, O.M.I.,

Founder, Ministry of Hope and Healing

- Mark Kyriakos has woven together the biblical themes of the last days, with the teaching of the Church on this topic, along with modern approved apparitions. His careful work avoids fundamentalist oversimplification and cavalier dismissal of the eschatological dimension of the Gospel.

Fr. Giles Dimock, O.P.,

author of 101 Questions and Answers on the Eucharist

- The fact that this world will come to an end and pass away, and that the ultimate purpose and value of everything in this world is to be found in the eternal values that will perdure into the next, are dogmatic certainties that are too often forgotten by Catholics today. Mark Kyriakos has done a heroic job of assembling the Church’s teaching on eschatology in a single source, making his book a valuable resource for those seeking to delve into this subject more deeply.

Roy Schoeman, author of Salvation is From the Jews

-Eloquently written and easy to follow, while offering a witty and engrossing direction of themes grounded in the wider sphere of Salvation History, Mark Kyriakos’ book captures the call to holiness of Jesus Christ, as presented from historical truth and the biblical revelation by way of the Catholic Church’s eschatological wealth. This work illumines Salvation History by designating what marks true eschatology – the historical and biblical revelation taught by the Catholic Church against errors ancient and modern.

James F Growdon

Academic Dean of the College

Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary

- Mark Kyriakos provides a thorough investigation into the question of the End Times, and how those times interact with how we view and live the social teaching of the Church.

- Omar F.Gutierrez

Manager, Office of Missions & Justice

Archdiocese of Omaha

Author, The Urging of Christ’s Love

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Acknowledgements

I could never acknowledge all the people—friends, teachers, pastors, religious and more—who have influenced the production of this work; I must, though, at least thank the men of God who took time out of their busy lives to read and endorse it. My friends Jack Donnelly, who helped as an editor, and Garrett Fosco, who illustrated the diagrams, must also be mentioned, as should Loretta Gossett and her staff at the St. John Paul II Library of Franciscan University. Last, but not least, I must thank my wife, Sarah, for her support and inspiration over the years, along with my children, Elizabeth, Noah, Joseph and Mary, who are looking forward to celebrating dad’s first book.

Abbreviations

Foreword

Christians are, have always been, and will always be, called to live in faith, hope and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, who has promised to all His followers that they will experience love and His joy, and that this joy of His will be complete in us (cf. Jn 15:11). We, as a body of believers, are called to be an Easter people who go forth carrying the risen life of Christ in us, and as such, long for, anticipate, and stand in readiness for His promised second coming. As the title of this work indicates, we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This phrase is taken from the end of the prayer that the priest prays in the Catholic Mass following the communal recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. It expresses the stance by which each believer is hopefully living out his or her life in faith as a disciple of Jesus Christ. At different times in homilies I have put this phrase to the congregation and have asked if they really are paying attention to these words, and if they really do believe and live in the blessed hope and expectation of the possible and imminent return of Our Lord and Savior. In this present time, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, do we Catholic Christians who hear this prayer at every liturgy really believe, and more so, stop and ponder that we could be, or indeed are, living in the end times and that this long expected return of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ could actually occur in our own lifetimes, and if so, are we open and able to receive Him?

At the present time we live in a world that is witnessing an immense breakdown in the social, moral, political, financial, religious, spiritual, and even physical fiber of our society. Many are those of different Christian traditions who point to these realities as harbingers of a further meltdown of our society as we know it and interpret these times as advancing and ushering in the return of the Lord. As Catholic Christians, the catechism of our faith teaches that before the return of Christ, at the end of time, the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that will accompany her sojourn on earth will reveal the mystery of lawlessness (even now at work) in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The ultimate religious fraud, or illusion, will be that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of the Incarnate Living Word of God, Jesus the Christ, come in the flesh. The people of God, His Church and bride, will enter the eternal Kingdom of God only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The pilgrimage of the Church, then, will be fulfilled not by an historic triumph of the Church…, but only by God’s victory over the final unleashing of evil. This victory will take the form of the Last Judgment in the wake of the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world (CCC 675, 677).

In this present work, the author has painstakingly undertaken to present a very clear and thorough examination of the Catholic Church’s teaching on the End Times, using as his main sources the Sacred Scriptures and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Overarching in its breadth and scope, this monumental work of scholarship and prayerful approach makes use of copious secondary sources and references. It provides the reader with a very clear and thorough perspective, grounded in Sacred Scripture and the teaching of the Magisterium, that the destiny of the Church and her believers mirror the life of Christ Himself, and that if we really do profess to be His followers then we must be prepared to follow Him in His footsteps. These footsteps lead to only one place and that is up Calvary Hill, where His and our story does not end, but gloriously finds its fulfillment and new beginning.

The audience for this book may very well be small and perhaps may only be embraced by a remnant, as many people today will no doubt find the premise of this work a very difficult one to accept. Throughout history and especially today, there exists an aversion among many to embrace the Cross of Christ, yet in order to experience the Resurrection of Our Lord it necessitates our shared experience of His Passion and death. As the old adage says, Everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die to get there. To embrace the cross of Our Lord is not only necessary, but it must be done with a full, loving, and willing heart.

In New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, there hangs one of eleven original El Greco paintings of Christ Carrying the Cross. Like a later copy that hangs in Madrid’s Museo del Prado, Christ is depicted embracing the cross in such a tender, gentle and loving way that it reminds one of the way a person would preciously hold a baby or a small child. The expression on Jesus’s face, with his eyes looking upward to heaven is one of longing, willingness and fidelity. He is in loving union with His Father for the salvation of all mankind. This is the stance in which we are called to be in union with Our Lord. It is to embrace the cross willingly, lovingly and devotedly.

Four hundred and seventy six years ago, in November of 1537, on the outskirts of Rome, Saint Ignatius of Loyola was praying in a small chapel in La Storta when he received what would be the summit of his many mystical experiences. As recounted in his autobiography, Ignatius felt such a change in his soul and saw so clearly that God the Father was placing him with His Son, who was weighed down with His cross and promising Ignatius His assistance. This vision, an answer to a prayer that he entrusted to Our Lady, was the very object that forms the grace prayed for in the mediation of the Two Standards of his Spiritual Exercises. This grace is to be placed under the Standard or Banner of Christ (His cross) and as His companion, accepting poverty and bearing insults and wrongs in order to imitate Him better. We who call ourselves, and are called to be, Jesus’ companions must therefore embrace the destiny of Our Savior which is the very destiny of His Bride, the Church. The Church is headed for its ultimate glory and that is the glory of its Lord. In order to get there we must be willing to share in the full life, death, and resurrected life experience of Our Savior in order to enter into His glory. This is the ultimate spiritual reality we must embrace in order to be placed under the standard of Christ. He calls us and invites us and awaits our response. He reminds us repeatedly to be not afraid and promises us His presence always. The question becomes what will our response be? Will we serve and follow Him to the cross, shouldering its weight as did Simon of Cyrene, or will we serve ourselves and follow our own wil? The answer determines everything. If we give our own fiat as Our Lady did two thousand years ago, then we must have the eyes to see and the ears to hear as we are sent out as lambs among wolves.

I consider it a great blessing to have read this book and feel that it has enhanced my faith and enriched my spiritual life. I believe this work fully lives up to its title in aiding the reader to continue to live and wait in the blessed hope for the coming of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. It will provide the reader with many insights, a fuller perspective and much food for thought and prayer. May it be a blessing for you.

Fr. James Mattaliano, S.J.

Introduction

Jesus came into the world not only to save and heal us, but also to teach and to preach (Mt 11:1). When God’s Word is preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, the effect is life-giving and life-transforming. Teaching the Word of God, though, is usually not so stirring, but it is vital nonetheless. Ignorance of God’s Word is ignorance of Jesus Christ; and ignorance of Jesus Christ results in, at best, unnecessary sorrow in this life, and, at worst, eternal separation from Him in the next: we need knowledge, we need truth, because without these we cannot move forward. Faith without truth does not save, it does not provide a sure footing (Pope Francis).¹ According to the Bible we are being taught by God when we learn from and abide in the truth of His Word——that is, Holy Scripture and the Holy Tradition of Mother Church: If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And the Spirit of God will abide in you, and He will teach you…concerning all things, and you will abide in Him (1 Jn 2:24, 27). He will guide you into all truth…and He will tell you things to come (Jn 16:13). And this is the promise that He has promised us——eternal life (1 Jn 2:25).

Today there is much confusion in the universal Church concerning the End Times. Many Christians today, including many Catholics, think they will be raptured out of this world before Christ’s return and the perilous times that will precede it (cf. 2 Tm 3:1). Others, while not accepting this fiction, believe that an idyllic golden age awaits the Church shortly before the close of history. The basic position of the Catholic Church, however, is that we, the people of God, will go through tribulation in this life, including the great tribulation near the end of time (Rev 7:14). There will there be no golden age for the Church at the end of this era——at least not as men usually envision such a time. Instead, the end of the Church’s earthly life will resemble the end of our Lord’s life on earth and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (2 Tm 3:12). The birth into the age to come will be as when the Church was born from the pierced heart of Christ hanging dead on the cross (Mt 12:32; Catechism of the Catholic Church, #766, henceforth CCC).² At the end of time, the people of God, the Church, will only enter the eternal Kingdom of God by enduring this final Passover, one that follows the path of her Lord, Jesus Christ, in His death and in His Triumph (cf. CCC 677; Rev 19:1-9).

The Kingdom of God only comes about by birth, a dramatic experience filled with both pain and joy (cf. Jn 3:3-8; 16:21; Mt 24:8). Hence, we certainly should not think that the future of the Church is an entirely negative one. We can honestly speak of a soon-coming springtime for God’s people, a time of life from the dead, as when Lazarus was raised shortly before Jesus’ triumph on the Cross (Rom 11:15). But if the glory of Palm Sunday was in the springtime, so was Christ’s Passion and His Passover—and the birth of His Church and His enthronement. These realities will be played out once again before and when the Son of Man comes in His glory at the end of the age (Mt 25:31; 24:3).

Five basic motifs, or themes, run through this study. I think it is important to mention them here, because they are foundational to the Catholic understanding of God’s Word in general, and divine prophecy in particular. They are firstly (1), the end of the Old Covenant/Testament age foreshadows the temporal end of the New Covenant/Testament age. Secondly (2), the Old Covenant/Testament came to an end nearly two thousand years ago, with the coming of Jesus the Messiah into the world; His victory over all evil (culminating in His Cross, His Resurrection and enthronement); His sending of the Spirit and the manifestation of His renewed, remnant people, the Israel of God; —and, finally, the destruction of the Old Covenant temple and its system of worship, which brought the last age to a definitive close. All Old Testament prophecies have been fulfilled in these momentous events which marked the end of that last age. Thirdly (3), one’s theology and one’s personal biblical interpretation must take into account one’s understanding of Church. Who is the final authority, or arbiter, of Holy Scripture?—Is it I myself, or is it the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Tm 3:15)? But what is, and where is, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church? And who on earth can legitimately be said to hold the keys of the kingdom of heaven? (Mt 16:19). That is, who, if anyone, possesses a divinely instituted authority to definitively teach and interpret God’s Word (cf. Mt 23:2-3; Lk 11:52; Is 22:20-23)? In short, Christian theology and hermeneutics (i.e., the interpretation of God’s Word) must consider ecclesiology (i.e., the understanding of Church). Fourthly (4), now, "while it is still called ‘Today,’ is the acceptable day of salvation … before it is too late (Heb 3:13; 2 Cor 6:2; cf. Mt 25:1-13; 2 Thes 2:9-12). We must disillusion ourselves from facile or one-sided notions——sometimes spread by well-meaning Catholics——of a glorious Christian springtime just around the corner. Certainly, Jesus has left us His peace and joy, a peace and joy this world cannot take away, because it did not give it (Jn 14:27; 16:22). The days ahead of us will, indeed, in many ways be glorious, with many miracles, wonders, and signs accompanying the spread of the Gospel to all the world (Acts 2:22; Mt 24:14). But these last days will not exactly be carefree; rather, they will be perilous times, full of trials that will challenge the faith of many Christians (2 Tm 3:1; cf. CCC 675; Lk 18:8; Mt 24:12). We need to stop over-counting our numbers, our influence, our institutions, and our resources, because they’re not real. We can’t talk about following St. Paul and converting our culture until we sober up and get honest about what we’ve allowed ourselves to become" (Archbishop Chaput).³ The latter times ahead will demand from God’s people an authentic, or radical, Christian faith, a second conversion, so to speak, one which follows the path of penance and conversion (1Tm 4:1; cf. CCC 1428). And finally (5), every act of goodness in the world is mysteriously, by God’s providence, contributing to the salvation of the world. The countless acts of love and self-sacrifice being performed daily, and usually unnoticed, by people of goodwill, who do their duty with love, according to the logic of giving, of sacrifice (Pope Francis), are, in God’s merciful design, salvific (cf. 1 Jn 3:11-20; 4:7-21).⁴ By His grace and His will we, His creatures, can choose to become His children; we can freely choose to imitate Him, to be like Him, to be fellow workers, little co-redeemers, with Him, being not only transformed into the same image of God, but divinely employed in the great work of redemption (3 Jn 11; 1 Jn 4:17; 1 Cor 3:9; 2 Cor 3:18; cf. Mk 16:15-18). And since all true love, as Christ has taught us, entails some degree of suffering and self-sacrifice, the sorrows and hardships of life are not meaningless: they can contribute to the building up of God’s Kingdom (cf. Jn 9:1-5; Phil 1:12-19). This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers (1 Jn 3:16). The truths above are hardly novel to Catholic thought and spirituality; but they do take on greater urgency and meaning in an age of hardship, distress, apostasy, and ever-increasing Christian persecution and witness. Indeed, perhaps we even must prepare ourselves to suffer in the not-too-distant future great trials, which will require on our part a willingness to lose life itself… (St. John Paul II).⁵ These foundational themes, while not discussed explicitly throughout this book, are, in some form or another, really addressed on every page herein.

In a preface to one of his many works, the great Catholic scholar, Hilaire Belloc, wrote the following some seventy years ago:

This book needs a brief apology. The writer has not only taken for granted that there is a God, but also design in the Universe and in the story of Mankind. He even seems to imply the Divinity of his Saviour.

All this must sound so unusual today that it may be thought an affectation, deliberately assumed to startle and offend. Such a feeling will be enhanced by the discovery that he takes the Gospel of St. John to have been written by St. John and even allows some historical value to the Old Testament.

The sole excuse he offers for his extravagance is that the present generation is tolerant of novel ideas, and that therefore he may hope for indulgence.⁶

This writer needs even more indulgence. Not only does he hold to Mr. Belloc’s beliefs, above, but he maintains that the Divine Savior founded a Kingdom, which is also a Church, and this Church is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Tm 3:15). In this book the foundational source of our teaching will be the Word of God: first the Bible, because all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine… (2 Tm 3:16). And second, the divinely chosen, final arbiter, or interpreter, of Scripture, the living Church of the living God (who brought forth the Bible for us), as recorded in her Sacred Tradition (Lk 2:7). Practically speaking, this means we’ll be consulting the Catechism of the Catholic Church (the norm for teaching the faith according to St. John Paul II) on practically every page. In this way the truths of Scripture will be illuminated and elucidated by the teachings of holy Mother Church, comparing spiritual things with spiritual…not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches (1 Cor 2:13). We will use this Catholic approach to Scripture not to startle and offend, but because it is, truly, the only reasonable way to study God’s Revelation in Christ Jesus.

So, this book aspires to be unabashedly, unapologetically, radically Catholic. But in so being, this book is also radically ecumenical, because in the Mystical Body of Christ, the people of God, there are the Catholic faithful, all who believe in Christ, and indeed all of humanity, called by the grace of God to salvation (cf. CCC 836).⁷ And those who believe in Christ and have been truly baptized are in communion with the Catholic Church even though this communion is imperfect (cf. CCC 838).⁸ It is my prayer that through this book Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, and, indeed, all sincere truth seekers, will, by the Spirit of grace, gain a better understanding of the Church’s teaching on the End Times and will walk and abide more deeply in the truth (cf. Heb 10:29; 2 Jn 2; 3 Jn 4). I hope it at least provokes deeper reflection and meditation into God’s Word, hopefully even exhorting readers to stir up love and good works, and so much the more as [we] see the Day approaching (Heb 10:24, 25). If it does these things, then I will have, by God’s grace, written a book that, as Tolstoy said, even my Father would approve of….

Because this work was written first of all for lovers and students of God’s Word, it can be read primarily (and therefore more slowly) as a Bible study, and one can look up all or as many references to the Scriptures and the Catechism herein as one pleases; or, one may always just read it through without that additional inquiry. In addition, while the chapters were meant to be read in the order they were written and are presented in this study, for those who want to focus on specific subjects, and perhaps eschew others, these chapters can also stand alone and be read distinctly. Obviously, the book will be an easier read for those more familiar with the Bible and the Catholic Faith; but it can certainly be read (as it was intended to be) by all adult Christians——and, indeed, even those outside the Christian Faith who wish to know more of Christ, His Church and this universal subject.

As much as possible, I tried to write this work in Scripture Speak. Faith, we are taught, comes by hearing the Word of God (cf. Rom 10:17). When we feed on His truth and let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom, we are practicing His presence, thereby experiencing healing, cleansing…by…washing…through the Word, and transformation into His image, just as by the Spirit of the Lord (Col 3:16; Eph 5:26; 2 Cor 3:18; cf. 1 Pt 2:2). In this light (that is to say, in the light of God’s Word), this book cannot help but be a blessing, even if the reader may disagree with some of the conclusions (cf. Ps 36:9; 1 Cor 13:12). Today, many Christians may think it an exaggeration to assert that all the harm that comes to the world comes from its not knowing the truths of Scripture in clarity and truth, as our Lord allegedly told St. Teresa of Avila.⁹ But if it is an exaggeration, it is hardly a great one; indeed, as the Church, citing St. Augustine, teaches, unless we believe in Scripture we can neither be Christians nor be saved. Rather, the Scriptures are, truly, the ‘Bread that cometh down from heaven,’ the manna containing all delights. And we certainly cannot do without that bread.¹⁰ We eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Divine Savior in the Holy Eucharist, but so do we in the reading of the Scriptures (St. Jerome).¹¹

The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the Body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God’s Word and of Christ’s Body. She has always maintained them and continues to do so, together with Sacred Tradition, as the supreme rule of faith, since as inspired by God and committed once and for all to writing, they impart the Word of God Himself without change, and make the voice of the Holy Spirit resound in the words of the prophets and apostles. Therefore, like the Christian religion itself, all the preaching of the Church must be nourished and regulated by Sacred Scripture. The bride of the incarnate Word, the Church taught by the Holy Spirit, is concerned to move ahead toward a deeper understanding of the Sacred Scriptures so that she may increasingly feed her sons with the divine words. For the Sacred Scriptures contain the Word of God and since they are inspired, really are the Word of God (cf. CCC 103-104).¹²

In the course of writing this book, more than one older, serious Catholic said to me, in so many words, You shouldn’t cite the Bible so much in your work, because Catholics do not read, nor do they understand, the Bible. And besides, the Church’s doctrine on the End Times is not very upbeat and happy; raising awareness of it won’t help anyone. In fact, a deeper understanding of God’s Word may cause panic in the pews. Their claims, sad to say, are not entirely baseless. But I don’t think they constitute good reasons not to quote or teach from the Bible liberally (cf. Col 3:16; 2 Tm 3:15-17). On the contrary, why shouldn’t faithful Catholics do all in their power to reignite a Catholic biblical revival, and a Catholic biblical worldview encompassing all areas of life——to bring the Scriptures back into our everyday vernacular and consciousness so that we truly live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Mt 4:4)?¹³ And as for Divine Revelation being a downer, and therefore best left unsaid, in truth, God’s Word never tears us down, but rather, always builds us up (cf. Jn 3:16-17; 10:10). His Word, when received with goodwill and an open heart, does produce in us a salutary godly sorrow…leading to salvation and repentance——which is painful, for a while, but joy comes in the morning with a new life, even as the steadfast love and mercy of the Lord is new every morning (2 Cor 7:10; Ps 30:5; Lam 3:23). Finally, as for causing panic, I think every reader understands that with each passing day we are one day closer to the end of time, and one day closer to the end of our own time on earth. A better understanding of what lies ahead—in particular, the final trial which the Christian faithful must pass through, a trial that will put the faith of many believers to the test (cf. CCC 675; Lk 18:8; Mt 24:12)—can only clear away confusion and strengthen faith, as does every willed encounter with God’s Living Word (cf. Jn 17:17; 7:17).

Potential readers should not feel intimidated by the length of this book. It is a rather large book, but it is not written in Greek: it is just filled with the Bible and the Catechism. Indeed, any one of the following chapters could be made into a book itself, and, in fact, many excellent studies have been written on these subjects. But I wanted to present the big picture of Catholicism’s understanding of the End Times, and I wanted to do so using the primary texts of our faith. Such an undertaking required some volume, even as the subject precluded brevity, let alone levity. It also called for a biblical exposition that went far beyond the Book of Revelation; but rather was attentive to the unity and content of the entire Bible, read within the living Tradition of Holy Mother Church and conscious of the coherence of the truths of Divine Revelation (cf. CCC 112,113,114).

No other Pope cited Scripture more than St. John Paul II did during his pontificate. And probably no other Pope has cited and commented on Scripture more than Benedict XVI did before his elevation to the See of Peter. For Pope Benedict, the Bible is like today’s Star of Bethlehem, the true star, leading us to union with Christ and His Church, where the Word has put up His tent.¹⁴ In modern times, the conciliar Fathers of Vatican II have exhorted earnestly and especially…all the Christian faithful…to learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures the ‘excellent knowledge of Christ’ (Phil 3:8), and to put themselves in touch with the sacred text itself…And let them remember that prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture, so that God and man may talk together.¹⁵ Re-discovering the Catholic Book, the Bible, whose human authors are the normative theologians of the Church, has been a major theme of the great popes of modern times. Beginning with the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII, we can say that there has been a crescendo of interventions aimed at an increased awareness of the importance of the word of God and the study of the Bible in the life of the Church, culminating in the Second Vatican Council… All of the modern popes have called for a rediscovery of God’s word in the life of the Church, praying that the words of Christ may be a wellspring of constant renewal. This was especially true of the late St. John Paul II, as it is now with Popes Benedict and Francis—with all three men of God always entreating the faithful to fall in love with the Bible and the Catechism (that is really to say, with Jesus and His Mother Church), allowing these primary Catholic texts to become the central texts of both Catholic spirituality and the New Evangelization.

There is no greater priority than this: to enable the people of our time once more to encounter…the word of God in the communion of the Church. Indeed, the Church is built upon the word of God; she is born from and lives by that word. Throughout its history, the People of God has always found strength in the word of God, and today too the ecclesial community grows by hearing, celebrating, and studying that word (Benedict XVI).¹⁶

I hope that this study, on a subject of such confusion today, will, with God’s grace, play a small part in this Last Days’ revival.

Any study of eschatology, or End Times, can always devote a good deal of space to discussing contemporary events, and especially in the dramatic times we’re living through. In this book, though, the main body is essentially taken up with what the Bible and the Church teach about eschatology. For the most part, I limited discussion of contemporary issues, and most of this discussion is in the footnotes. Obviously, much could be said about modern times from a Catholic perspective, but I wanted to write a book that was in the main theological rather than journalistic. And, as the Church teaches, the study of the Scriptures, which are in truth, the Word of God, should be, as it were, the very soul of sacred theology (1 Thes 2:13; cf. CCC 132).¹⁷

"Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ to Him, our soon-coming King, this book is dedicated (Tit 2:13). Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen" (1 Tm 1:17).

Feast of Christ the King, 2015

_______________

¹ Lumen Fidei, 24.

² Cf. St. Ambrose, In Luc. 2, 85-89: PL, 1666-1668.

³ Cited in Patrick Buchanan, Suicide of a Superpower (NY: St. Martin’s Press, 2011), pp. 95-96. Mr. Buchanan’s general assessment of the Church in the United States is a somber one, but it is also, I believe, quite sober and realistic:

The Catholic Church of 2010 is a hollow army. Though her numbers, 65 millions, are as large as they have ever been, the Church is an institution whose moral precepts are ignored even by Catholic politicians. And though Catholics represent nearly a fourth of the nation and almost a third of the Congress, they have gotten only crumbs from that table. Republican platforms and presidents promised tuition tax credits for parochial schools but they were never enacted. And now the schools are dying. The right-to-life movement, representing millions, has been unable to effect protections for the unborn, fifty million of whom have died in the womb since the Supreme Court ruled in Roe. V. Wade in 1973 that the right to an abortion was now a constitutional right. Among the reasons abortion on demand endures - the support of Catholics in Congress. Catholic politicians’ failure to promote a Catholic agenda is their own collective fault. Divided on every issue, including life, rarely do they act in unison to advance Catholic interests (p. 96) –

which, we might add, are humanity’s interests.

⁴ Vatican Insider, 26 June 2013.

⁵ Responding to a question regarding the Third Secret of Fatima, at Fulda, Germany, November, 1980. Cited in Antonio Socci, The Fourth Secret of Fatima (Fitzwilliam, NH: Loreto Publications, 2006), pp. 137-138.

⁶ Battle Ground (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2008), p. xi.

⁷ LG 13.

⁸ UR 3.

⁹ Life, 40.1, in Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez trans., Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila (Washington, D.C.: ICS Publications, 1987).

¹⁰ Spiritus Paraclitus, 25, 47.

¹¹ Cited in Fr. Anthony Coniaris trans., Philokalia (Minneapolis, MN: Light and Life Publishing, 1998), p. 273.

¹² DV 21, 23, 24.

¹³ A recent survey, conducted by Barna Group on behalf of the American Bible Society,

found that 77% of Americans believe that morals are declining in America, and the largest percentage believe that a lack of Bible reading is the leading cause for that decline. However, 58% said they do not desire the wisdom or advise found in the Bible, and 57% read it less than five times a year, with 18-to-28-year-olds being the least likely to read it (emphasis mine).

About 60% of Americans, though, believe the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God, and about one-fifth read the Bible at least four times a week. afaJournal, July-August 2013. Another poll, released by Gallup in the spring of 2013, found that roughly three-fourths of Americans felt that religion is losing its influence on American life, and a roughly equal percentage felt this was a bad trend. Sadly, a more recent survey by the Pew Research Center reveals that the United States is de-Christianizing at an accelerated rate.

Whereas 86 percent of Americans in 1990 identified as Christians, by 2007, that was down to 78 percent. Today only 7 in 10 say they are Christians. But the percentage of those describing themselves as atheists, agnostics or nonbelievers has risen to 23. That exceeds the Catholic population and is only slightly below Evangelicals. Those in the mainline Protestant churches – Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians – have plummeted from 50 percent of the U.S.population in 1958 to 14 percent today. By accommodating the social revolution of the 1960s to stay relavant, mainline churches appear to have made themselves irrelevant to America’s young. The decline in Christian identity is greatest among the young. While 85 percent of Americans born before 1945 still call themselves Christians, only 57 percent of those born after 1980 do. Pat Buchanan, Human Events, May 24, 2015.

¹⁴ 6 January 2011, Catholic News Agency.

¹⁵ DV, 25.

¹⁶ Principles of Catholic Theology (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1987), p. 321; Verbum Domini, 3, 1, 2. Cf. Pope Francis: We, as Jesus’ disciples, are called upon to be people who listen to His voice and take His words seriously. Let us always keep the Gospel with us, because it is the Word of Jesus, so that we can listen to Him at all times. Zenit. March 17, 2014.

¹⁷ DV 24.

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I

Biblical Prophecy and Interpretation

In Your light we see light (Ps 36:9).

After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this’ (Rev 4:1).

The Word of God, Jesus

The Word of God says, Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7). One of the unique characteristics of the Bible is that God’s Word often discloses the future, at times in great detail. Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, the Word declares, I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done… before they spring forth I tell you of them (Is 46:9-10; 42:9). While in the Book of Sirach we read, The Most High possesses all knowledge, and sees from of old the things that are to come: He makes known the past and the future, and reveals the deepest secrets (Sir 42:18-19).

When we say that the Bible is God’s inspired Word, we mean to say that it was written by real flesh and blood men, in real and unique historical circumstances, but written under the mysterious inspiration of the Spirit of God. This is an assertion of faith, to be sure, but it is one hardly contrary to reason, as we’ll see. However, from the Christian perspective, the Living Word of God is not so much some thing, but more precisely someone——His name is called The Word of God, and His name is Jesus (Rev 19:13; cf. Lk 1:31). Jesus did not merely speak the words of God, Jesus is the Word of God: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (Jn 1:14). In this light the Catholic Church teaches that through all the words of Scripture God, in truth, is speaking only one single Word, His one Utterance whom He has revealed to His creation, and in whom He expresses Himself fully: You recall that one and the same Word of God extends throughout Scripture, that it is one and the same Utterance that resounds in the mouths of all the sacred writers…. The Scriptures are in fact, in any passage you care to choose, singing of Christ, provided we have ears that are capable of picking out the tune (St. Augustine).¹ The Word of God is Christ Jesus; the Word of God is Sacred Scripture; and the Word of God is the Sacred Tradition of Holy Mother Church. Hugh of St. Victor, a Medieval theologian, summed up well the teaching of the Church over the centuries when he wrote that all Scripture is one book, and this book is Jesus, because all Scripture testifies of Jesus, and all Sripture is fulfilled in Jesus (cf. CCC 134, 2763). Every single page of either Testament seems to center around Christ. St. Jerome stated the same truth in a different manner when he declared that ignorance of the Bible meant ignorance of Christ (cf. CCC 133). Small wonder, then, that the Church’s Greatest Doctor…applied everything in the Bible to Christ (Benedict XV).²

All true prophecy, whether it be from the pages of Sacred Scripture, or whether it is a private revelation given to one of God’s children, a citizen of the currently existing Kingdom of Heaven, will always bear testimony to Jesus (cf. Mt 4:17; Jn 5:39, 46). For the Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of prophecy and the spirit of truth, will always glorify Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God, in whom all things consist (Rev 19:10; Jn 16:13; Col 1:17). The Apostle John writes,

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world (1 Jn 4:1-3).

Notice that the crux of the test of authentic prophecy is the acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as the incarnate Son, or Word, of God (cf. CCC 463). On the other hand, while true prophecy always confesses the Incarnation of the Messiah, the God-Man, Jesus Christ, a denial of Jesus’ divinity has its origin in the spirit of the Antichrist, a spirit animated by Satan (cf. 2 Thes 2:9; Rev 13:2). Furthermore, the passage above shows us that that which fundamentally distinguishes unbelievers from the new people of God are their respective responses toward the Living Word of God, that is, toward Jesus Christ (cf. Jn 8:37-47).³ As Jesus asserted boldly to the Pharisees, if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote about me (Jn 5:46). But as John tells us, "as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (Jn 12-13).

So, the essence of true prophecy is the Word of God, Jesus Christ. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Rev 19:10). The Word of God, therefore, not only defines true prophecy, it also confines true prophecy. In other words, the focus of all prophecy inspired by the Spirit of God will always somehow pertain to Jesus and will always acknowledge His Divinity (cf. 1 Cor 2:1-2; CCC 425-427):

The criterion for judging the truth [and value] of a private [or prophetic] revelation is its orientation to Christ himself. If it leads us away from him [or becomes independent of Jesus or purports to be a different way of salvation], then it certainly does not come from the Holy Spirit, who guides us more deeply into the Gospel and not away from it (Benedict XVI).⁴

As the Church teaches, The mission of the Holy Spirit is always conjoined and ordered to that of the Son (CCC 485, cf. Jn 16:14-15). Just as there are no spoken words without breath, so the Living Word of God is never alienated from the Spirit, or breath, of God (cf. 2 Tm 3:16; CCC 484-486).⁵

Prophecy: Fulfilled Substantially and Symbolically

Now in a broad, generic sense, to prophesy is to proclaim God’s Word. The Bible says, he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. In short, he who prophesies edifies the Church (1 Cor 14:3-4). Mark Twain once said, The art of prophecy is very difficult, especially with respect to the future. But to prophesy in the biblical sense can also mean to literally reveal God’s plans for the future. For the Apostles, though, the prophetic word was no doubt confirmed, or made more sure, subjectively speaking, as they actually witnessed the prophecies of the Old Testament fulfilled before their very eyes (2 Pt 1:19; cf. Jn 2:22). As Peter wrote, we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty (2 Pt 1:16). Jesus told the Apostles that, many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it (Mt 13:16-17). Since true prophecy has Jesus Christ as its center, as He is the Revelation of God, the prophecies of the Old Testament exist primarily to reveal Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind (cf. Heb 1:1-4; CCC 65-67).⁶ In their Messiah the Apostles saw the Revelation of the Old Testament come alive (cf. Ps 40:7-8; Heb 10:5-7). In fact, one of the most important principles of biblical interpretation is the truth that the entire Old Testament (all things which are written) has already been historically fulfilled in Jesus Christ and the Kingdom He established two thousand years ago, as all the prophets…foretold (Lk 21:22; Acts 3:24; cf. Lk 16:16; 18:31; 22:37; 24:25; Mt 5:17-18; Mk 1:14-15; Jn 5:39; 12:16; Acts 3:18; 7:52; 10:43; 13:27; 24:14). All the Scriptures [of the Old Testament]——the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms——are fulfilled in Christ (CCC 2763): And beginning at Moses the Risen Christ explained to His disciples in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself, saying to them, These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me (Lk 24:27, 44). It has been rightly observed that the literal fulfillment of a prophecy is the seal of its divine origin.⁷ And as the Old Testament prophesied, and the New Testament revealed, Jesus literally:

- was born of a virgin (cf. Is 7:14; Lk 1:27, 34);

- is true God and true man (cf. Ps 45:6-7; 110; Is 9:6; 11; Jer 23:5-6; Dan 7:13-14; Mic 5:2; Zech 2:8-11; 3:8-9; 6:11-13; Mal 3:1; Mt 1:18, 20; Heb 8:1; 9:14; Rev 19:12);

- is the Son of God (cf. Gn 18; 32:22-32; Ex 3:2-6; 33:20; Jdg 13:3-22; Ps 2:7-12; 33:6; Pr 30:4; Wis 2:12-20; Jer 17:5; Bar 3:37-38; Mt 3:17; Lk 1:35);

- was born in Bethlehem (cf. Mic 5:2; Lk 2:4-7);

- is of the tribe of Judah and of David’s lineage (cf. Gn 49:10; 2Sam 7:12-16; Ps 2:6; 89:3-4; Lk 1:27, 32;

- was called out of Egypt (cf. Hos 11:1; Mt 2:14-15);

- came in the name of the Lord and became the chief stone of God’s spiritual house (cf. Ps 118:22,26; Is 8:14; Zech 3:9; Mt 21:9,42; 1 Pt 2:7);

- taught in parables (cf. Ps 78:1-2; Mt 13:34-35);

- healed the sick (cf. Is 29:18-19; 35:4-6; Mt 11:5);

- preached to the poor and freed the oppressed (cf. Is 61:1; Lk 4:18);

- delighted to do God’s will (cf. Ps 40:7-8; Jn 6:38; Heb 10:7);

- was zealous for God’s house (cf. Ps 69:9; Jn 2:17);

- was hated without a cause (cf. Ps 35:19; Jn 15:25);

- was accused by false witnesses (cf. Ps 35:11; Mk 14:57);

- was carried into Jerusalem on a donkey (cf. Zech 9:9; Jn 12:12-15);

- was betrayed by a friend for thirty pieces of silver (cf. Ps 41:9; Zech 11:12-13; Lk 22:47; Mt 26:15; 27:3-10);

- was flogged and physically abused (cf. Is 50:5-6; 52:14; 53:5; Mk 14:65; 15:16-20);

- was crucified, but His bones were not broken (cf. Ps 22:16; Zech 12:10; Ex 12:46; Ps 34:20; Mk 15:20-32; Jn 19:32-33, 36);

- was derided by His enemies at His execution, and His clothing taken from Him and gambled for (cf. Ps 22:7-8, 18; Lk 23:35; Mt 27:35-36);

- was executed with criminals, but was buried in a rich man’s tomb (cf. Is 53:9,12; Mk 15:27-28; Mt 27:57-60);

and finally, Jesus literally rose in a glorified body on the third day and ascended into heaven (cf. Ps 7:6-7; 16:10; 47:5; 68:1,18; 110:1-2; 132:8; Acts 13:33-37; Hos 6:2; Dn 7:13-14; Lk 24:46; Acts 1:9-11; 2:30-31; Eph 4:8; Heb 8:1; Rev 12:5). The above, of course, are just some of the mountain peaks of messianic prophecy, all of which were fulfilled literally in history, in order that the submission of our faith should be in accordance with reason (Vatican I).⁸ For the Christian faith rests upon the action of God in history, being established upon things truly real, that we may believe what really is (St. Irenaeus; cf. CCC 2738).⁹ Just as the mighty works, prodigies and signs of Jesus attest that He is the Christ, or Messiah, so the prophecies He fulfills certify that God the Father has sent Him; they encourage faith in Him (cf. Acts 2:22; Lk 7:18-23; CCC 547-548; Jn 5:36; 10:25, 38). They serve also to remind us of the reliability of God’s Word; what He says will happen "will come to pass (Ez 12:25; cf. 24:14). As Jesus emphasized in a sermon illuminating the End Times, Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away" (Mt 24:35).

More often than not, though, biblical prophecy is rich in symbolism, subtle and multi-layered, with varied legitimate meanings. In fact, the foremost way we see Jesus in the Old Testament is not in direct messianic prophecy per se, but rather through typology. Typology describes a prophetic correspondence between persons, things, and events in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament (cf. CCC 1094). When we read the Old Testament prayerfully, in the Spirit by which it was written, we notice how the type of Jesus is revealed (Epistle of Barnabas 7.7).¹⁰ For example, Moses is a type of Christ, that is to say, he symbolically prefigures Christ and His mission. Moses’ life represents a facet of God’s definitive Revelation to mankind in Jesus Christ (cf. Jn 1:1-18). But Jesus, whom we call the antitype, is the complete fulfillment of all previous and partially revealed aspects of God’s Word (cf. Heb 1:1-3). Other biblical personalities from antiquity, like Adam, Enoch, Joshua and David are all good examples of Old Testament types of Christ. They each, in their own way, show us something about the reality of Christ, who was, during their lifetime, still to come. As Job, another type of our Lord, said: I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth (Job 19:25). But Old Testament types can also refer to other realities pertaining to the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). For example, the New Testament describes the crossing of the Red Sea as a type of Christian baptism, as it does circumcision (cf. 1 Cor 10:1-2; Col 2:11-14). Once again you have in these things the glory of Jesus, because all things are in him and for him (Barnabas 12.7). In short, by prophecy and through various types, the mystery of our salvation in Christ is present in a hidden way throughout the Old Testament.¹¹ But more significantly for our immediate purposes (and the basic theme of this book), we will see that the dramatic events surrounding the definitive fulfillment of the Old Covenant (including the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, in AD 70), as prophesied by our Lord forty years earlier, serve as a prophetic type, or allegory, corresponding to events of the Earth’s last days.

In speaking of this inspired unity between the Old and New Testaments, the Church has always taught that the unity of God’s salvific plan, as revealed in Scripture, can be discerned through typology, that is to say, that persons, places, things and events in the Old Testament (while real in themselves) serve as prefigurations of what God has accomplished in the Person of