by T. Stanfill Benns | Jul 25, 2026 | Blog
+Feast of St. James, Apostle and Martyr+
Introduction
For the past several months I’ve been ruminating about the precarious situation of the world today. I’m sure other people are having the same thoughts and feeling the same feelings. The one thing that keeps coming to my mind is, “Here is the faith and patience of the saints.” I’m not sure any of us understood how much faith we would need and how patient we would have to be. And I say that because it seems like we are so far from what we remember of what we had of the Church that it is almost impossible to describe it to anybody who didn’t once experience it. Especially younger people. I have great difficulty, even with modern-day technology, in conveying that sense of the Church as us older Catholics experienced it. And I think that’s very important to understand, because without that true sense, it is very hard to grasp what has really happened to the Church.
I’m going to be making some changes to my site and basically go to blog-only format soon. I’m not sure how long this is going to take. It’s going to require some maneuvering, but like many people, I’m kind of trimming things down — economizing and minimizing as I grow older, which is something that all of us wind up doing at this stage of the game. I don’t want anyone to think that the site won’t be available to them. It certainly will. But I think that I have provided all the proofs, or nearly so, about what happened to the Church. And I know there are plenty of broadcasters and podcasters, YouTubers and all kinds of people out there that are going to have different takes and different ideas. They are the ones who seem to be garnering most of the audience these days. And of course we are all free to publish these proofs — for as long as the powers that be allow it, that is.
Over the years — and this website is now 20 years old — I believe I have offered readers very solid reasons for why I believe as I do concerning the end times and what we’re going through now. And I don’t know that I can say that for everybody else. In fact, I’m pretty sure I can’t say that for everybody else because they often don’t have anything from Church teaching or Holy Scripture to back up how they are looking at certain things, especially when it comes to Antichrist and who is Antichrist and where we are etc. I’m not saying I’m the only one that can get it right. I’m not. I’ve made a lot of mistakes during my career — I corrected one in my last blog. I always try, when I realize I’ve done this, to make sure that readers know I’ve made a mistake and that I’ve corrected it. It’s almost always good-faith errors because either I wasn’t paying attention or I just copied something wrong. But I still have the obligation to correct them. And those who question something as not correct have the obligation of notifying me.
But mistakes aside, there are a lot of popular broadcasters out there that have some very convincing takes on things. And it worries me because the one thing I don’t want lost in all of this is what Scripture tells us and what we know from approved sources of what will happen in the last days. The spiritual must always supersede the material. I know a lot of people have various ideas as far as where Enoch and Elias fit in and the identity of the Antichrist. But in some ways, these have been made so fantastical that it almost seems as though they’re myths or legends and we know this is wrong. I am no different than everyone else — I’m speculating on a lot of these things myself. I just read again somewhere where we would be expected in these days to be able to read the signs of the times. And that is why nothing has been put down for us — we can speculate all we want, but only the actual fulfillment of the event will prove those speculations to be true. And even then, we are on dangerous ground here. How easy would it be to falsify the appearance of Enoch and Elias, a fake Antichrist, or the sudden appearance of a long-lost pope or bishop? We live in an age where deception has become the rule, not the exception, and the trusted principle of “when in doubt, don’t” must be invoked more and more frequently.
Antichrist’s coming and St. Jerome
Sometimes I think maybe all of us have it wrong. Something could come out of all of this that none of us are expecting. But all we can do is judge by what little we CAN believe and what we are CERTAIN that we see and take it from there. And I’m sure I’m not going to be too far off from some people’s thoughts on this. I’ve been reading St. Jerome lately; his commentary on Daniel. I know a lot of people have said, “Well, we don’t really know how much to trust about what’s in Daniel because we don’t know what applies to the Old Testament times or what applies to the New Testament times, or whether it applies to both.” There are differing opinions among the approved commentators on what does apply. But usually they agree that the Old Testament is kind of a prefiguration of everything that’s going to happen in the New Testament where the end times are concerned. They just differ on how much.
For we find this in the Douay-Rheims commentary on Apoc. 22:10: “We have no certainty when we apply these predictions to particular events. For as St. Jerome takes notice, the Apocalypse has as many mysteries as words, or rather mysteries in every word” (Now much of what appears in Apocalypse can be referred back to Daniel, so cross-referencing Daniel helps us better understand Apocalypse. In Dom Bernard Orchard’s A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, Reverend R. C. Fuller wrote, “All are agreed that the Old Testament as a whole prefigures the New Testament; some of the Fathers and early Church writers went further than this and interpreted everything in the Old Testament, even every phrase and word, as typifying the New Testament.” And I think that more and more we can see this is true the further we get down the end-times road.
In a lot of ways, I think that we have not given enough credit to what is written in the Old Testament and how it applies to the New Testament. And that’s because we’re not Scripture scholars and we are not like the Protestants, who often seem to prefer the Old Testament to the New. Also, reliable Scripture commentaries are hard to find. A lot of things were destroyed, I believe, when the Novus Ordo came in. I know I rescued several boxes of books from St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colorado that were being taken to the trash. I don’t know how often that happened but I know that it did happen. So what all we lost, we’ll never really know. I just hope it’s not things that could be really critical to what we’re going through now, but I ‘m afraid it could very well be.
I have a copy of St. Jerome’s commentary by Archer on the Book of Daniel, Catholic versions being unavailable. Although it is not imprimatured, I think it’s a very valuable work, because St. Jerome pretty much goes into everything that applies to us today. He more or less says that almost everything in Daniel that has been attributed to Antioch Epiphanes should be attributed to Antichrist. He was an early Father of the Church, so we can take his word for it. And we’re bound to believe what he says over any modern commentator simply because he is a saint and a Father of the Church. His work doesn’t amount to a unanimous opinion, which we would have to adopt as our own, but nevertheless, he was known for his expertise on Holy Scripture, and according to Rev. Graham’s work on Where we Got the Bible, he was the saint responsible for the creation of the Septuagint. We are living in a time when the final fulfillment of Daniel will be realized. If we take this book and Apocalypse in a collective sense, it is clear that not only does it predict the rise of spiritual Antichrist, THE Man of Sin, but also the head of Antichrist’s system, collective Antichrist — the Wild Beast — at work throughout the ages (Apoc. 1: 1). Spirtual Antichrist, the Man of Sin, has come and gone, but who he served, and the system they created together lives on. These are Satan and his sons, who encompass the camp of the saints at the very end: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you shall do… He is a liar and the father thereof” (John 8: 44).
Russian conquest?
What also what disturbs me is some of the trends that to be in the works now. And one of them is a gravitation towards Russia as a “non-Communist” country — a dictatorship — and its Orthodox state religion. Statistics show a massive influx of converts to this sect. I understand how that might attract some people, because our own Church is no longer visible, although Christ keeps it alive as the Invisible Head. We’re its members — members of his Mystical Body and the Church militant on earth. And what complicates matters further is our own government’s move towards a totally non-Christian religion and joining together with it in defense of this country, which is frightening. There may be other nations that perceive this administration’s favoring of Israel as a threat to their beliefs and their military position, simply because of some of the statements that Israel has made about what they intend to do if anyone should come after them.
Some people are thinking that in the event of an all-out war, Russia could possibly invade the United States on the pretext that they’re delivering us from a government that basically has violated our own Constitution, which it has. I don’t know if that is going to happen. I don’t see how people figure that Russia would be an improvement, whether in its religion or its political aspect, over what we have. There is always the possibility that Communist rule could be resurrected and we would then live in a Communist state, (although what we have in way of government now is not too far removed). We have to remember here that Russia also plays footsies with Communist China. That influence cannot be dismissed and would no doubt have bearing should we ever find ourselves in Russia’s orbit.
So let’s say Russia gets involved in the Middle East, they help Iran go after Israel, which I’m not sure they would do because they think it’s not in their best interests. But let’s say they do that, and the United States rushes in and starts a war with Russia, and given our depleted oil reserves and dwindling military weapons reserves, we go into this war on the puny side. It is quite possible Russia has a lot more weapons-wise than we realize they actually have, and they’ve been holding it back in their war with Ukraine because they figured that eventually they will go after Europe, or the Israel /US thing will come up. Let’s assume that Russia wins this war. So Russia comes to what’s left of America and acts friendly. Well, that’s the best-case scenario. But what’s Russia going to want out of America? Are they going to want to annex us? After all, Alaska is a connection to Russia. Will they require us to convert to Orthodoxy something a scared, hungry and battered people might find acceptable, given the alternatives?
Conquest from within?
At that point in time, the American government would no longer exist, and some actually believe that that might not be a bad thing. They could be correct. But what can people expect if our current leaders continue down the path they are on? Just recently, a case has gone before the Supreme Court where one city was prohibiting Jewish people from meeting in their homes and praying. They wanted to invite 12 people into one home to pray, and the city said, “You can’t do that because it’s not a church,” or something to that effect. So this Jewish man took it to the Supreme Court, and now the court will decide whether you can pray in your own home. When I lived in Colorado, I had a discussion with our county co-administrator, I guess you could call her, and she said, “Oh, yeah, if they wanted to, they could forbid people to use anything on their property as a church and invite people in.” This was during COVID, so I don’t know whether that had something to do with COVID or what that was, but that was alarming to me. And it’s like, well, you know they have that power. We’ve seen it exercised.
And then I read a blog that said that if they ever impose Noahide laws — which seems like it could happen — they could order us to remove crucifixes, holy pictures and statues from our homes. The first Noahide law is — and I’ve spoken about this before — “You can’t have idols in your home.” So are they going to take away all our statues? Are they going to take away the crucifixes? Are they going to forbid us to do these things because they consider Christ an idol since he wasn’t their Messiah? This is not unlike the persecution the early Christians faced. Rome fell as an empire because of wars and invasions, an unstable economy, too great a reliance on slave labor, military overspending and overexpansion of their empire, government corruption and political instability, migration issues, loss of their moral and cultural identity, and a weakening of their military owing to a lack of recruits and diminished loyalty to the empire. History is repeating itself in new Rome, and enough of the lies have been exposed that people can now see it moving inexorably forward.
Natural disasters will probably play a part in this downfall of our country as well, as mentioned in previous articles. There are maps out there that show that if we ever had any kind of a major shaking up — whether it be an EMP or pole shift or a nuclear bomb dropped somewhere, for that matter— it could trigger earthquakes that would destroy the West Coast, parts of the East Coast, and leave only the Midwest and some of the East Coast intact in this country. Our own government has had the ability to trigger earthquakes for decades, and the Chinese experimented on their own population with this technology in the 1970-80s. There seems to have been an increase in earthquake and volcanic activity recently, but scientific reports deny this. And that would be all the more reason to wonder if suddenly there was an uptick in earthquake activity. It’s also very likely that we’ll see more destruction in this country than we could possibly imagine, even civil war. And that’s sad, because we love our country, regardless of what’s going on right now. We just want it to be Catholic.
Conclusion
One thing that I can say about certain podcasters today is that they have done a good job of exposing the Judaeo-Masonic conspiracy to the best of their ability, something Catholics have been aware of for almost 300 years. And we know as Catholics that it is a conspiracy to seduce the nations, destroy religion and control the world. I think the hardest thing for all of us, but especially young people to understand is how badly we’ve been betrayed and lied to all these years. For young adults it’s a shocker, because they generally do not know how long this evil has been around. But now they see it’s undeniable influence and results in their world, and so they ask, “Now what do we do and who are we supposed to believe?” How do we help them to cope? How do they digest all this? It’s a really sad situation. And the only solution is to set aside all the noise, all the media outlets, all the cacophony of opinions around us and concentrate only on daily duties, our prayers, and strengthening our faith. But young people brainwashed all their lives by materialism and false religious practices and beliefs have a tough time accepting this and practicing it, as do many older adults. They are not attuned to physical or spiritual suffering for Christ’s sake and may not be able to withstand the coming persecutions.
And they will come. At some point we may very well be asked to abandon our homes and our possessions — give up our lives — as did the early Christians, Catholic martyrs throughout history. We must prepare ourselves for that by refusing to be drawn into the intellectual traps and the use of AI to create visual phantasms to further deceive us regarding the events we see unfolding. All I can advise is what Holy Scripture advises: “But prove all things, hold fast to that which is good. (1 Thess. 5: 2); also, “Stand fast: and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle” (2 Thess. 2:14). And when in doubt, refrain from acting until the doubt can be cleared, by those means approved by the Church. And if they cannot be cleared, one must always continue to refrain from acting, most especially when it concerns a doubt regarding the validity of the sacraments, something which is absolutely necessary for salvation, that is, when there is risk of losing one’s soul. (Rev. Dominic Prummer, Handbook of Moral Theology, 1957).
Faith and patience may sometimes make us miserable and anxious in the short term, but we must never lose sight of the fact that it will make us saints forever in Heaven.
by T. Stanfill Benns | Jul 15, 2026 | New Blog
+Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel+
We continue here with the Apocalypse commentary written by Bishops Andrew of Caesarea in the seventh century. Please forgive the long lapse between blogs and this present lengthy blog — I wanted to cover the entire commentary on Antichrist by Archbishop Andrew in one sitting and it ran longer than expected. I hope to resume my usual blog publication of 7-10 days now as some of the issues that have prevented me from writing as often have now been resolved.
I also have corrected an error in various site articles which recently came to my attention. Paul 6, on several occasions, was photographed wearing the Jewish rationale, or breastplate with a jewel for each tribe of Israel. I mistakenly described this as the ephod, a related garment but not the breastplate he is shown wearing. My sincere apologies. This blog is being published July 15, but I have moved the date forward a day to honor Our Lady and her scapular devotion.
The Apocalypse of St. John
Chapter 13
13.2a — ‘And the beast that I saw was like a leopard’… The leopard means the kingdom of the Greeks; the bear, that of the Persians; the lion is the kingdom of the Babylonians over which the Antichrist will rule, coming as king of the Romans, and abolishing their rule when he sees the clay toes of the feet, through which is meant the weak and fragile division of the kingdom into ten.
Benns comment: The lion is a Jewish national and cultural symbol, representing the tribe of Judah. Babylonia signifies Rome and Antichrist himself or his system (St. Paul — 2 Thess. 2). If Antichrist is king of the Romans, a description also found in the Catholic Encyclopedia under Antichrist, then he is a king only of Vatican state and its Vatican 2 believers and is not a true pope. It appears that this could mean the Lion of Judah will then rule from Rome. St. Irenaeus, (125–202) best describes Antichrist: “For he being endued with all the power of the devil, shall come, not as a righteous king, not as a legitimate king obedient to God but as an impious, unjust, and lawless one; as an iniquitous and murderous apostate; as a robber, concentrating in himself a satanic apostasy, and setting aside idols to persuade men that he himself is God.”
13.2b — ‘Power and authority’… For Satan, the spiritual dragon, will give to the Antichrist all authority by means of false signs and wonders for the destruction of those unstable <in the faith>.
Benns comment: Had Catholics remained strong in their faith they would have recognized the signs well before Antichrist’s coming and would not have been fooled. Very few Catholics escaped at least some level of deception.
13.3a,b — ‘Mortal wound healed’… And one of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed. A head as if wounded, it says, is either one of the rulers who will be put to death and who will appear to rise again by him through deceitful sorcery, as Simon Magus had done who was reproached by the leader of the apostles <Peter> or the kingdom of the Romans, which, having endured some kind of wound by the division, will seem to have been healed by the monarchy, following the model of <what occurred in the time of> Caesar Augustus.
Benns comment: The second definition seems to describe what we see today. The paganism of ancient Rome has been “healed” or re-established as well as the revised version of Roman democracy.
13.11. ‘And I saw another beast which rose out of the earth’… This beast some say is the Antichrist, but to others his two horns seemed to hint at the Antichrist and the false prophet. Since it is admitted that the false prophet also is to come in his own person, we think it is not absurd to understand that the dragon is Satan, that the beast rising out of the sea is the Antichrist, and that the one present, according to the opinion of the blessed Irenaeus, is to be understood as the false prophet rising out of the earth, that is, out of the earthly and groveling way of life, having horns like a lamb, because he completely covers with sheep’s skin the hidden murderous character of the wolf, and because of his appearance of piety in the beginning, concerning which Irenaeus says, speaking thus verbatim: “About the adjutant which he also calls false prophet, he speaks, it says, like a dragon.” To him, it says, will be given the power so that he makes signs and wonders, going before the Antichrist, preparing for him “the way which leads to perdition.” The healing of the wound of the beast, we said, is the apparent union for a short time of the divided kingdom, or the restoration through the Antichrist of the destructive tyranny of Satan for a short time, or the false resurrection from the dead of one of his close associates. This one is to speak like a dragon, it says, for he will both act and speak the things of the devil, the source of evil.
Benns comment: We have explained at length in articles on Roncalli how he acted as the false prophet by making Montini a cardinal and collaborating with him in his efforts until he became Roncalli’s successor. He paved the way for Montini’s reign by being the “transition pope” who appeared as meek as a lamb but was instead a poisonous snake.
13.12–13 — ‘Working great signs’… It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and causes the earth and its [inhabitants to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. And it works great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of men. In imitation of the Baptist, who brought believers to the Savior, the forerunner of the rebellious false Christ will perform all things, it says, through sorcery for the deception of people, <for them> to consider the Antichrist to be God, <the Antichrist> witnessed to by the worker of such marvels and receiving indisputable glory. For the lie, to deceive people, strives eagerly to imitate the truth. It is no wonder in the eyes of the deceived, fire will be seen coming down from heaven, since we have learned also in the story of Job that this one <Satan> has slandered and has consumed his <Job’s> flocks <by fire> by divine permission and satanic operation.
Benns comment: Roncalli is given “judicial permission” to deceive the elect — this is punishment for sin (Zach. 11: 7; 2 Thess. 2, 11-12). As Rev. Henry Coleridge (1883) states in one of his sermons: “…Antichrist is to be supported and recommended to mankind by all the power of the devil ‘in all power and signs and lying wonders,‘… This permission of God to Satan is judicial.”
13.14a. — ‘And through the signs which were given to him’… He deceives, it says, those who have hearts dwelling entirely on the earth. For those who have acquired “citizenship in heaven” the perception does not deceive, because they have been made perfectly secure by the prophecy of his coming.
Benns comment: Materialism being rife today, no one longs for heaven or dwells there in their heart. They are entirely hypnotized by technology and earthly pleasures.
13.18. — ‘The number of the beast, 666’… The exact sense of the numerical cipher, as well as the rest of the things written regarding this, time and experience will reveal to those who live soberly. For, as some of the teachers say, if it were necessary to know clearly such a name, the one who had beheld it would have revealed it. But divine grace was not well pleased to set down the name of the destroyer in the divine book. As in exercises in logic, many names are to be found contained in this number, according to the blessed Hippolytus and others, both proper nouns and common nouns. First, proper nouns, such as “Lampetis,” “Teitan,” through the diphthong, τενῶ forming the future of the verb, according to Hippolytus, and likewise “Lateinos,” just as “Benedict” is interpreted as “one who is blessed” or “blessed” perhaps in imitation of the truly blessed one, Christ our God. Then common nouns “wicked guide,” “real harm,” “slanderer of old,” “unjust lamb”— these he will be called by those opposing his deception, rendering the appropriate “opinion in shame.”
Benns comment: It seems then that the name Benedict or Benedicto(i)s, from the earliest times, was suggested as a possible name of Antichrist! We have mentioned before that this is also the opinion of a learned Scripture commentator. In his massive work on the Apocalypse, printed in Spanish in Quito, Ecuador in 1954, Dr. Anton Bileham, holding doctorates in both philosophy and theology, wrote: “We firmly believe from now on, that such a name Benedictos, whose number, in Greek, language of the Apocalypse equals 666. B (2) E (5) N (50) E (5) D (4) I (10) C (20) T (300) O (70) S (200) = 666… Then Antipope Antichrist was called Benedictos.” The Traditionalist Mexican priest, Fr. Joaquin Saenz-Arriaga, in his 1970s work The New Montinian Church tells us that ‘The Golden Book of Noble Italian Heritage,’ states that Paul 6 was descended from the deBenedicti(o)s family and that this family was “…of Hebrew origin.”
Chapter 14
14.8 — ‘Babylon the great has fallen’… Babylon is the name he significantly gives to the confusion of the world and to the tumult of daily life, which, as much as he foretells, is not yet to end. The wine of desire of fornication he calls not only the Bacchanalia of idolatry and the alienation of the mind, but also the drunkenness and lack of control which derives from each sin, according to which all those who are unfaithful to God, according to the saying of the Psalmist, will be utterly destroyed. Such a Babylon finally falls, and is completely overthrown in the appearance of the Jerusalem above, while the workers of transgression are sent “to the eternal fire.
Benns comment: Confusion, idolatry and “alienation of the mind” — there can be no better description of what we are experiencing today than this. It is truly amazing this was all foreseen so long ago.
14.9–10 — ‘If anyone worships the beast’… If anyone, it says, bows down to the beastly Antichrist and pursues the ungodly lifestyle modeling him, and either in word or in deed proclaims him God — for this can be clear by the mark given on the forehead and hand — he also will partake with him of the drink of the cup of vengeance, on the one hand unmixed and separated from the divine mercies because of the righteous judgment, on the other hand having been poured with various punishments on account of the multiplicity and variety of its self-chosen wickedness. Appropriately is the punishment called the wine of wrath, being a consequence of the wine of impiety, making drunk those drinking from it, so that “whoever sins through them is also punished through them.”
Benns comment: We have explained before that the mark on forehead and hand indicates induction by false baptism and ordination into the Antichrist cult. Rev. E.S. Berry commented in 1921: “Antichrist and his prophet will introduce ceremonies to imitate the sacraments of the Church. In fact, there will be a complete organization, a church of Satan set up in opposition to the Church of Christ… Their ceremonies will counterfeit the sacraments and their works of magic be heralded as miracles.”
Chapter 16
16.12 — ‘The drying up of the Euphrates’… Probably by divine permission the Euphrates is lessened to give passage to the kings of the nations for the purpose of them utterly destroying one another and the rest of humanity, which <kings> we think were set into motion out of parts of Scythia recalling Gog and Magog, according to that which is brought out later in the Apocalypse. Probably the Antichrist also will come from the eastern areas of the land of Persia, where political the tribe of Dan originates from the root of the Hebrews, together either with other kings or with rulers designated with a royal name, to cross over the Euphrates bringing bodily or spiritual death upon people, upon some <bodily death> through faith and patient endurance, and upon others <spiritual death> through cowardice and weakness.
Benns comment: The Euphrates has almost completely dried up. This battle may be physical, spiritual or both. If physical, it has not yet occurred. This is discussed in the article Spiritual Teotwawki in the Catacombs section of the website.
16.13, 14 — ‘Frogs and assembling for battle’… From these it is shown that the same person is both the devil as a dragon, and the Antichrist as the beast, and the false prophet as another <different> from these, as has been mentioned. From these, it says, are going out spirits similar to frogs through their green poison and uncleanness and sliminess and their creeping toward the wet reptilian pleasures of the evil powers which by the commands of the devil and false Christ and false prophet are manifested by mouth, which will show deceitful “signs and wonders to people,” as we will become aware by what follows. The false signs which are operated through the demons, it says, <will cause> those persuaded by them to march into war on “the great and terrible day of God,” “judge of the living and dead,” over which, having been entirely defeated, those fighting against God in vain will lament, bewailing their prior error.
Benns comment: Certainly the usurpers in Rome have handily deceived everyone and poisoned their minds with their reptilian sliminess. The troops in America and NATO countries, if they are called to such a battle, may mistakenly be led to believe they are fighting FOR God, not against Him.
15-16 — ‘I am coming like a thief’… The watchfulness and guarding the garments mean vigilance in good deeds. For these are the garments of the saints, of which he who is deprived will need to be ashamed, since he is naked and full of indecency. <The Hebrew word> Armageddon is interpreted as “deep cut” or “that which is cut in two.” For there, the nations, being gathered together, being minded to follow, and being commanded by the devil, who delights in the blood of people, are to be cut down.
Benns comment: We cannot say to ourselves that because nothing is happening the way we expect, God will not soon come to judge the nations; this is exactly what the devil wants. If the battle of Armageddon is a physical battle, the military mighty of the nations will be destroyed.
16.17-18 — ‘It is done’… That is, the divine command is accomplished. The flashes of lightning, voices, and thunders mean the amazing nature of these occurrences and the future coming of Christ, just as in ancient times <they meant> the descent of God upon Mount Sinai. The earthquake <is> an alteration of all things in existence, as the Apostle had understood: “Again once and for all I will shake not only the earth but also heaven.”
Benns comment: As speculated in Spiritual Teotwawki, this event could well be a worldwide pole shift, something referred to in Holy Scripture. Rev H. B. Kramer also shares this opinion.
16.19a — ‘Great Babylon remembered’… For now both Jews and Samaritans, for fear of the pious ones who reign, hide their private wishes, and with us they appear to be assigned to their distinct lot, not daring to rebel. Likewise the genuine Christians find themselves mixed together with those possessing only the name <of Christian>.
Benns comment:Again, I am amazed that he foretells here that all of us will simply be referred to as Christians, with no distinction of Catholic, Protestant, etc. It must be remembered that the Samaritans worshipped idols and the Jews in no way counted them as Jews proper.
16.20b — ‘EVERY island fled away’… Islands are the churches, and mountains are the leaders of them, we are taught to discern from the divine Scriptures. These flee at the time of attack, being foretold <as> we have heard for ourselves from the Lord, saying: “Then they will flee from the east to the setting sun, and those from the west to the east.” “For there will be great tribulation of a sort which has not happened from the foundation of the world, nor ever will be.” Some being tormented on account of sin, others enduring these difficulties patiently in a test of virtue, not only in those difficulties will they be tormented by the Antichrist for the sake of Christ, but also in flights and in the miseries in mountains and in caves, which, in order to preserve piety, they will prefer to the way of life in the city.
Benns comment: Could this foretell that the churches and their leaders will be generally abandoned? The way things are shaping up, with all the veils being ripped form their transgressions, it seems entirely possible. Those recognizing the times have already fled from the cities, but this could mean a more general flight, in panic mode.
16.21 — ‘And great hailstones, heavy as a hundred-weight <talent>, fell on people from heaven. And people cursed God for the plague of the hail, so very great was this plague.’
Chapter 17
Benns comment: Throughout Apocalypse, regardless of the severity or number of the chastisements, people curse God and fail to repent. This is indicative of the far-reaching consequences of the operation of error. Today it feels like all of us are caught in a web of lies wherever we turn.
17.1-3 — ‘Golden cup’… Some understood this harlot to mean ancient Rome lying upon seven mountains, the seven heads of the beast which bears her to be the seven most impious kings from Domitian until Diocletian, <kings> who persecuted the Church… For ancient Rome from long ago lost the power of its kingdom, unless we suppose the ancient rank were to return to her.
Benns comment: The “seven heads” spoken of in Apoc. 13:1 are the seven empires. But then we go to Apoc. 17: v. 9, which tells us that, “The seven heads are seven mountains and they are seven kings upon which the woman sitteth.” This could also refer to seven dioceses, not mountains, ruled by seven Novus Ordo kings — the “cardinals,” and later “bishops” appointed by the usurpers who were the “heads” of these dioceses. As explained in the blog HERE, during his reign as false pope, Roncalli reorganized the dioceses of Rome and added a seventh diocese, making all the bishop-cardinals of the diocese answerable only to him.
17.6-7 — ‘Woman drunk with the blood of the saints’… Wherefore, the ancient Babylon was also given the name “the charming harlot, leader of sorcery,” and ancient Jerusalem heard, “You have the appearance of a harlot,” and the older Rome was addressed as Babylon in the Epistle of Peter… or the Old Rome or the New, or taken generally as the kingdom in one unit, as it is said. For in each of these <cities> various sins had been born, and blood of the saints poured out, some more, some less, we have learned. And the blood of the martyrs <shed in the former Rome> until Diocletian…
Benns comment: The whore here represents the infidelity of the usurpers to the Bride of Christ. This also refers to the fact that Rome has dallied with the American government and allowed its funds to be spent in woefully sinful ways throughout the world. Modern commentators have speculated that Babylon the Great is the worldwide monetary system established by the cabal, and that when Babylon falls, it will mean not only the fall of Rome but America as well.
17.9a. — ‘Here is the mind that has wisdom’… Since the things being interpreted are spiritual, spiritual wisdom is needed to understand what is said, and not worldly <wisdom>.
Benns comment: This emphasizes the need for those reading this biblical book to look first for its spiritual meaning, not for the Protestant-inspired predictions of various government leaders as Antichrist or an embedded mark of the beast, etc.
17.10 — ‘The seven kings’… The blessed Hippolytus understood these to mean ages, of which five have passed by, the sixth still stands, during which the apostle saw these things, and the seventh, which is after the 6,000 years, has not yet come, but, coming, it must remain a little while.
Benns comment: If the sixth age still stood during Hippolytus’ time, we are living in the very last days of the seventh age, following the end of the age of the Church. This both St. Thomas Aquinas, the early Father Victorinus, and now Archbishop Andrew believed.
17.11 — ‘The beast’… And the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth, but it is from the seven, and it goes to perdition. The beast is the Antichrist; as the eighth he will be raised up after the seven kings for the purpose of deceiving and desolating the earth. From the seven, as from one of them, he will spring forth. For he will not come from another nation, along <the lines> of the things we have already said, but he will come as king of the Romans for the purpose of the dissolution and perdition of those who were persuaded by him, and after this he will go forth into the perdition of Gehenna.
Benns comment: Both these verses above addressed in our Seven Kings blog; see link in 17.1-3
Chapter 18
Chap. 1818.2-3a — ‘Babylon the Great is fallen’… How did the present Babylon water the nations with the wine of her own fornication? By becoming altogether the leader in all these transgressions and by her sending to the cities subject to her, through gifts, rulers who were the enemies of truth and righteousness.
Benns comment: This confirms the role played by world government in the fall of Babylon Rome. And we know who rules these governments.
18.3b. — ‘And the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her’… On account of the excesses from unjust riches, it says, extending to that which is far above necessity and behaving insolently toward those in need, it has become a matter of profit to the merchants of the earth.
Benns comment: The sending of billions to the Ukraine and Israel while America and other countries are struggling to survive and are denied sufficient medical care, fair wages and adequate housing is reflected here.
18.4–5 — ‘Come out [of her], my people’… As was declared to Lot in Sodom, “Escape, saving your own life,” and in Isaiah, “Come out from her and be separate, and do not touch the unclean,” likewise he speaks here. For close association with those who provoke God is shunned.
Benns comment: There is still time for those just now realizing what has really happened to leave the company of the unGodly and escape, but that window of opportunity will soon be closing.
18.13c–14 — ‘and human souls…’ Neither will they trade the souls of human beings, it says, by enslaving free people, nor will you have enjoyment as formerly by costly and splendid items.
Benns comment: Human trafficking in both souls and bodies will finally come to an end when Babylon is destroyed.
18,15-17a — ‘Weeping and mourning’… He leads them by this vision to the sufferings of this Babylon, by the lamentations over her describing the magnitude of the calamity which will prevail over her, the very one who formerly boasted of her royal status.
Benns comment: How often has our government announced we are the greatest nation on earth? And how brazen the deceit perpetrated by Rome in presenting itself as the one, true Church Christ established? “I sit a queen and am no widow and sorrow I shall never see” (Apoc. 18: 7). Both the Novus Ordo and LibTrads proudly voice Christ’s promise to be with the Church until the consummation to prove they are indestructible. But they fail to factor in coming of Antichrist and the destruction of Babylon.
18, 21-24 — ‘Thus with violence will Babylon the great city be thrown down, and will be found no longer’… the demolition of Babylon will be complete, so that not even a trace of her will be preserved afterwards. For this is what is meant by the disappearance of the harp players and the musicians and the rest. The cause, it says, is that all the nations were deceived by her own particular sorcery and she has become the vessel of the blood of the prophets and the rest of the saints. Possibly what was signified by all these is the impious Babylon of the Persians, since it received the blood of many saints through various times up to the present, since by both sorceries and trickeries they rejoiced from beginning to end.
Benns comment: The thought of Rome’s destruction and with it all the beautiful churches and treasures of the Vatican is heartbreaking but they have been tainted by the evil people who have dared to defile them. Henry Cardinal Manning cites numerous approved theologians who agree that at the end, Rome will be destroyed. It is my opinion that America will also be punished, being afflicted with natural disasters, perhaps the same “great earthquake” that destroys Rome.
Chapter 19
19.20b. — ‘These two will be thrown alive into the lake of fire’… Perhaps these will not die a common death, but in the twinkling of an eye those made immortal are condemned to a second death in the lake of fire, as the Apostle says concerning other people: “They will not sleep but they will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” These likely will go to judgment, but those <two> who presented themselves as impious and anti-gods, not into judgment but <directly> to condemnation. If this does not appear <to be so> to some, on account of the statement of the Apostle that the Antichrist is to be “destroyed by the breath” of the divine command, also it is to be found in a saying of a certain one of the teachers that some are to be living after the destruction of the Antichrist, those blessed by Daniel; we will say that the two living in incorruptible bodies, after their tyranny had been abolished by God, will be delivered to the fire of Gehenna, which to them will be death and destruction by the divine command of Christ.
Benns comment: I have speculated that Roncalli and Montini will be the first to be resurrected for the Final Judgment and hence physically thrown into the lake of fire for all the faithful to see. If some are to be living after the destruction of Antichrist, maybe this means after the death of Antichrist, as St. Thomas Aquinas says may well happen.
Chapter 20
20.1-3; 5-6 — ‘1000 years’… The one thousand years, therefore, is the time from <the year of> the Incarnation of the Lord until the coming of the Antichrist… they will exercise priesthood and reign with Christ, as we see it, these things signifying to us one thousand years until the loosening of Satan and the deception of the nations, not as being then deprived of the kingdom, but as more certainly and very clearly, they will possess it by the passage of temporal things and arrival of eternal things. For the time will be short after the loosening of the devil until the judgment against him and the punishment of Gehenna. Therefore, they will be priests of God and of Christ is thought to be a repetition of the foregoing. For the things seen now, through the trial and the end result of things, the rewards of the saints and wonders were then destined to be when they were seen by the Evangelist, as was said. So then, since there are two deaths, it is necessary to understand that there are also likewise two resurrections. First, then, physical death, given as the penalty for humankind’s disobedience; the second, eternal punishment. The first resurrection is being brought to life out of “dead works,” the second, the transformation from bodily corruption into incorruption.
20, 7-8 — ‘Satan loosed’… Some, I don’t know how, explain the aforementioned time of one thousand years as the three-and-a-half years from the baptism of Christ until his ascension into heaven, after which they conjectured that the devil is to be loosed. Others said that after the completion of the six thousand years, the first resurrection of the dead is granted only to the saints, so that in this earth, in which they displayed endurance, they will enjoy delight and honor for one thousand years, and after that the universal resurrection will occur, not of the just only but also of the sinners. It is unnecessary to note that the Church has accepted none of these… it is not necessary to understand the one thousand so much by the <literal> number
Benns comment: The two verses above deny the claims of the Judaizers expecting an earthly millennium. Archbishop Andrew is right in leaving this determination to the Church. Pope Pius XII condemned the idea of Christ reigning with the saints during an earthly millennium.
20.9-10 — ‘Camp of the saints’…There, they say, the Antichrist will sit in the Temple of God, either in the Judaic one, the old divine Temple, which was destroyed on account of the recklessness against Christ and is <still> expected by the God-fighting Jews to be rebuilt by him, or in the real divine Temple, <that is> in the catholic Church, usurping that which is inappropriate for him and “representing himself as being God,” according to the divine word of the Apostle. But not for long; it says, fire comes down from heaven, either a visible fire as <happened to> the two commanders of fifty men in the presence of Elijah, or the coming of Christ in glory will destroy them “by the breath of his mouth” and the aforementioned nations, also devouring their general, the devil, and he <Christ> will deliver <the devil> to the lake of fire together with the Antichrist and the false prophet to be tortured forever and ever.
Benns comment: How long is long in God’s time? We have explained before that the 1,260 days or three years and a half are probably references to the heighth of Antichrist’s reign (Dec. 1965, closing of the false Vatican 2 council until April of 1969, introduction of the Novus Ordo Missae). So the actual length of his reign or continuation of it through his “successors” could be much longer. Here is measured not how many physical bodies perished during his reign and that of his system but the vast number of souls he and the other usurpers managed to murder.
20.11 — ‘Sky fled away’… Methodios in the treatise On the Resurrection reported thusly: “It is not acceptable to say that everything is to be utterly destroyed and that there will not be any earth and air and sky. For the whole world will be consumed in a cataclysm of fire coming down for purification and renewal. It will not come for absolute destruction and ruination.” And going forward he says, “And Paul testifies clearly saying, ‘For the earnest expectation of creation awaits the revealing of the sons of God.’ For creation is subject to futility, not willingly, but by the one who subjected it in hope, that even the creation itself will be freed from the bondage of corruption.”
Benns comment: God will somehow bring heaven down to earth and the earth will be renewed. We are not meant to know or understand how or when this will happen. We know only that God is incapable of error or lying and ever true to His Promises.
by T. Stanfill Benns | Jul 1, 2026 | New Blog
Prayer Intention for July, Month of the Precious Blood of Jesus
“Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Jesus in atonement for my sins.” (Raccolta)
+Most Precious Blood of Jesus+
Introduction
The following is taken from a little-known commentary on the Apocalypse, a 2011 translation made by the Catholic University of America Press. It is a very enlightening commentary, and I have excerpted some of its finer points for comment here, since they add to our knowledge of what the early Fathers and hierarchy believed regarding the end-times. The author of this work, Archbishop Andrew of Caesarea, lived in the seventh century, and his commentary was responsible for the acceptance of the Book of Apocalypse as a genuinely inspired book of the Bible. The link to the complete work is included in the title below. Also available at this link is another work containing fragments of the teaching of Pope St. Gregory the Great on Apocalypse, and what he says there I would like to offer as a reason for providing previews of these ancient works.
“Whoever makes progress by beholding spiritual realities must also offer them to others by recounting them. For he who beholds in order to proclaim is the one who, inasmuch as he makes progress in himself, also preaches out of concern for the progress of his neighbor. For this reason it is written somewhere else: Let him who hears say: Come! (Apoc. 22:17). For when he has already heard the voice of God speaking in his heart, he must unsilence his own voice on behalf of his neighbors through the office of preaching, and thereby call another because he himself has already been called… Let the one in whom the inner voice has lodged itself proclaim what he has heard to attract others also to the place where he himself is carried away, lest, even though he was called, he find the doors shut, if he comes without companions near the one who called him.”
Prologue
Despite the fact that the books of the prophets of old have been explained by many, still the depth of the mysteries in them are kept invisible until that day in which the “partial knowledge” will be abolished and the perfect knowledge will be disclosed.
- Benns Comment: It seems that day has come, for what has been written clearly appears to be unfolding before our eyes each day.
Ch. 1 — The letters to the seven churches
- Due to the existence of many churches in many places, he sent <letters> to only seven, mystically meaning by this number the churches everywhere.
- Benns Comment: Each church, however, seems to have some connection to various churches and times throughout history. Pope Pius XII compared the Church of his time to that of Laodicea, and I have always believed the Philadelphia Church somehow applied to the city of that name in this country and the saintly, dedicated, self-sacrificing Ven. John Neuman, once its bishop, a bishop so unlike those who abandoned us after the death of Pope Pius XII.
- The glory belongs to him, it says, who freed us through love from the bondage of death, and washed the stains of sin through the outpouring of his life-giving blood and water. And he has made us “a royal priesthood” so that we may offer, instead of irrational sacrifices, “rational worship” as a living sacrifice to the Father.
- Benns Comment: And this persecution we now endure is what we offer in these times, when the Mass has been taken away.
Ch. 2, 5-6. (Church of Ephesus)
The movement of the church <means> to deprive them of divine grace, by which he brings down upon them swells and waves of evil spirits and evil men ministering to them. Some understood the removal of the lampstand <to refer to> the throne of the archpriest of Ephesus, because it was moved to the seat of the king.
- Benns Comment: Here bishops are seen to be removed for their wickedness, something which certainly happened during the false Vatican 2 council for all to see, although they lost office immediately on accepting John 23 as a true pope. Enough evidence existed of his intent, from 1959 on, and even before, for such an informed decision to be made and for the sake of the faithful they were bound to make it.
Ch. 6, 5-6: Loosening of the Third seal
It is likely and sensible for a literal famine to occur then, just as it will also be announced by what follows. We think that by the black horse the mourning for those who have fallen from the faith in Christ on account of extreme torture is signified. The scale is the examiner of those who had fallen from the faith, both through an easily changing mind or vainglory, and on account of weakness of body. The quart of wheat worth as much as a denarius means figuratively those who “lawfully struggled” and perfectly guarded the divine image which was given to them, and the three quarts of barley suits those who, in a manner befitting a beast, bowed down before their persecutors on account of cowardice, but accordingly repented later, and washed clean the soiled image with tears.
The command do not harm wine and oil means not to disregard the healing through returning to Christ, which healed the one who has “fallen among robbers,” in order that those who through long-suffering were about to renew the fight would not be carried off by death. Therefore, so that we too will gain, for the disease of our souls, the Physician-God who loves humankind, let us hurry to be such for our fallen brothers, by offering to them the oil of sympathy mingled with the wine of exhortation, “in order that the maimed parts not worsen but be healed,” according to the divine Apostle, so that becoming “co-workers with God,” we will delight forever in his blessings, by the grace and love for humankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom glory <is due> together with the Father, with the Holy Spirit unto the ages of ages. Amen.
- Benns Comment: And how much we have always hoped that the little we have to offer here might be that spark that prompts those in error to return to the true faith and save their souls, even if what they read be a hard saying.
Irenaeus said in the fifth discourse of his Refutation of False Knowledge, thus verbatim: “Neither the subsistence nor the essence of creation disappears — for he who formed it is truthful and certain — but ‘the form of this world is passing away,’ that in which the transgression occurred, as the elders say.” And the great Irenaeus <said> these things. We think that we should use the Apostle for <an understanding of> the ancient custom. Because the Hebrews were using scrolls instead of our books, the unrolling of them did not bring about a disappearance but the complete disclosure of what is written, so that the opening of the heavenly body also shows the revelation of the blessings reserved for the saints. And this <verse> we have understood in four ways, as it has been given to us from God.
- Benns Comment: This and the above is a very insightful spiritual appraisal of these verses, since the Apocalypse must first be interpreted spiritually, although in many cases both a spiritual and literal interpretation of the verses is meant. It also indicates that the “saints’ of the end times would know the full meaning of the visions of St. John.
Ch. 9, 13-16 — The bottomless pit and army of horsemen
Some say that the four angels are Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael who had been bound by the gladness of the divine vision, to be untied on the day of judgment with innumerable angels for the condemnation of the impious, of whom one third is to be destroyed. I myself think, however, that these four angels are the most cunning demons who were bound upon the coming of Christ who, by the divine command coming out of the heavenly altar, which was an image of the ancient tabernacle, were released by the divine angel so as to rouse the nations, not only against Christians, but also against one another, so that those tested might be revealed as the faithful ones and shown to be worthy of greater rewards and of the heavenly mansions, or rather <worthy of> barns, like ripe wheat.
But those who are like chaff, the impious and the exceedingly great sinners and the unrepentant, are to be punished justly here, by these receiving a milder sentence at the judgment. And if they are bound at the Euphrates, it is nothing strange. For they have been sentenced by God until the time, some in the abyss, some among the swine then some in other places according to the position, bound to be eternally tormented after the completion of their war against human beings. And perhaps by the mention of the Euphrates it is shown that Antichrist will come out of those parts. And it is not necessary to doubt the great number of demons, for all the saints say that they fill the air.
- Benns Comment: In articles on this site and in previous blogs, we explain that the River Euphrates has almost completely dried up and mention certain videos that report the “finding” of caves and tunnels exposed by the dried up river and chains in those caves, also the sounds of loud moaning. Certainly we know demons have been loosed are attacking people everywhere. Certainly the testing and sifting of the wheat from the chaff is well underway.
Ch. 11, 1-2 — An angel measures the Temple
…Some understood the temple of God to mean the Old Testament, and the outside yard, which is not measured, to be the New, on account of the innumerable number of those saved in it. The forty-two months they took to mean the shortness of time during which the sacraments of the New Testament are to prevail until the second coming of Christ arrives. But we think that the temple of the living God refers to the Church, in which we offer rational sacrifices to God; the outside court <is> the gathering-place of the unbelieving nations and of the Jews since the unworthiness is measured by the angel through the impiety. “For the Lord knows his own,” as it has been said. It is said that he who is All-Knowing does not know the unlawful. The trampling of the holy city <is> either the new Jerusalem or the universal Church, and the forty-two months by the nations I think means that the faithful and the ones being tested will be trampled upon and persecuted in the three-and-a-half-year appearance of the Antichrist.
While we believe the three and a half years is only a symbolic number, or could refer to the period 1965-1969 when most of the damage was done to the Church, the temple of God obviously refer to the Church, not Jerusalem.
Ch. 11, 6 — The two witnesses
Oh, the great goodness of God! For he brings healing equivalent to the wound. For since the pseudo-Christ will be manifested in the “many signs and false wonders” by all drugs and enchantments because he <the pseudo-Christ> accepts every diabolical operation, so God will equip these saints by the power of true signs and wonders, so that by the placing of truth and light they will refute falsehood and darkness; those who had been deceived will return, both because of fear of the teachings and because of the chastising blows, <namely,> drought and fire and the alteration of the elements and the like, making the Deceiver into an example, and being not at all persuaded, either by him or by another, until the completion of their own prophecy.
- Benns Comment:Drugs, enchantments (spells) and diabolical operations — we have them all! How strange he should mention drugs, and certainly the operations must reference the operation of error on many levels. But God helps us, that we may recognize error and refute it.
Ch. 12, 1 — A woman clothed with the Sun
Some, on the one hand, had understood this woman entirely to be the Theotokos before her divine birth-giving was made known to her, <before she> experienced the things to happen. But the great Methodios took <her> to be the holy Church, considering these things concerning her <the woman> to be incongruous with the begetting of the Master for the reason that already the Lord had been born long before. It is good to remember also the very words of the blessed Methodios, who says in his so-called Symposium through the person of the virgin Procle11 thus: “The woman wrapped in the sun is the Church. That which to us is our garment, to her is light. And that which gold is for us, or glowing gemstones, for her are the stars, the superior and more brilliant stars.” And the following:
“She stood upon the moon. The moon I regard figuratively <to be> the faith of those who are cleansed of corruption by the washing <of baptism>, for the condition of liquid substance is regulated by the moon. She labored and gave birth anew to those ‘carnal-minded into spiritually minded’ and formed and fashioned them according to the likeness of Christ.” And again he says: “We must not think that Christ is he who is to be born. For formerly, before the Apocalypse, the mystery of the Incarnation of the Logos had been fulfilled. John speaks with authority about the present and future things.” And afterwards <he mentions> other things, <and then says>, “Therefore, it is necessary to confess that the Church must be the one in labor and gives birth to those redeemed, as the Spirit said in Isaiah: ‘Before she labored to give birth, she escaped and gave birth to a male.’
- Benns Comment: How painful a labor today for the Church to give birth to new members! Most are infants, with a few adults here and there mixed in. But that Baptism is symbolized, when Baptism and marriage are the only Sacraments we still enjoy (although all remain in existence), is significant when coupled with the painful labor. It tells us that Church membership will be very difficult as well as limited in this time.
Whom did she escape? Either the dragon, certainly, in order for the spiritual Zion to give birth to virile people.” And in continuation, “so that in each one Christ is to be born in the nous. Because of this the Church is swollen and in ‘great pain’, until Christ, having been born, might be ‘formed in us,’ so that each one by partaking of Christ becomes <one with — Ed.> Christ.” Moreover, the Church has been clothed in the “Sun of Righteousness.” And the legalistic light of the moon, which shines by night, and the secular life, alterable like the moon, has been mastered under the feet, and round about upon her head <is> the crown of the apostolic precepts and virtues. Since <it is> from the moon that liquid substance depends, the same one <Methodios> also says that by the moon is meant baptism, figuratively called “sea,” which, on the one hand, <is> the salvation for those who are reborn and, on the other hand, ruination for the demons.
- Benns Comment: Only very steadfast Catholics will survive the onslaught of the dragon. That the belief the Church has always been “spiritual Zion” was even then known is illustrated here.
12:10. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. Accusation and Slander against human beings [132] are the names the devil had been called, as had been said, which he is. The angels are delighted about his ejection “for there is nothing in common between a believer and an unbeliever.”
12:11–12. 11And they conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not love their lives even unto death. Wherefore rejoice, Heaven and you that dwell therein! Woe to you, Earth and Sea, for the devil has come down to you with great anger, because he knows that he has little time <remaining>!” Those accused by him, it says, the saints and those slandered as <was> Job, in comparison to all the people persuaded by him, have been victorious over him nonetheless by suffering for Christ. The powers above, following an imitation of God, rejoice at his fall and grieve over those who had cleaved to his earthly plot. Woe to those who dwell on the earth, that is, to those who do not have <dwelling> “in heaven,” but have their citizenship on earth. For many of them on the earth are victorious over the enemy and will be victorious, even though he is now more angered by those who are struggling because of the nearness of his punishment. Wherefore, it is necessary to deplore those who have their “minds on earthly things” and who are tossed by the waves in the sea of life here.
12:15–16. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon had poured from his mouth. When the Church was fleeing, it says, into inaccessible places <due to> the attack of the deceiver from his mouth, that is, by his command, behind her will come a river of water, that is, a multitude of ungodly men or evil demons or various temptations against her that he might enslave her <the Church>. The earth, it says, helped her on the one hand either by lengthening the way and by the drought and dryness in the places preventing the impulses of evils, and swallowing up the river of the temptations on account of this, or by the humble-mindedness of the saints who say inwardly, “I am earth and ashes,” rendering impotent all the snares of the devil, as the angel had spoken to the divine Anthony.
12:17. And the dragon became angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus. When the chosen teachers of the Church and those despising the earth have withdrawn to the hardships in the desert, if he has utterly missed them, the Antichrist will declare war against those drafted for Christ in the world. It says he will begin the war, so that, just as when dust thickens the smoothness of oil, finding them vulnerable in the occupations of life, he will put them to flight. But many among them will conquer him because they have genuinely loved Christ.
- Benns Comment: How many of those who stay at home to pray have forsaken the city, where they are constantly tempted by Satan, to live in small towns and rural areas. There they can escape most of the dangers and lead a quiet life.
In our next blog, we will examine the verses dealing with Antichrist.
