T. Stanfill Benns | Betrayed Catholics

Archbishop Andrew on the reign of Antichrist and wicked Babylon

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.

An archbishop’s 7th Century commentary on St. John’s Apocalypse

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.”

Interpretation of Andrew, Archbishop of Caesarea, Cappadocia — On the Apocalypse of St. John

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.

Guest blog: An appeal to Protestants to return to the Catholic Church

by T. Stanfill Benns | Jun 19, 2026 | New Blog

+St. Juliana Falconieri+

Introduction

Last month, I asked anyone with any ideas on how we might reach out to Protestants to please forward their comments. A friend and reader sent me this article she had written for her friends some time ago, and for those who might have Protestant friends or relatives they would like to approach regarding the faith, I thought it might be something that would be helpful. Thank you, Jennifer, for your work on this and especially for the many links provided. I continue to research all avenues I feel might be helpful in appealing to non-Catholics because I believe that today the faith must be presented from an entirely different angle and in an entirely different way than in previous times. At some point, when my thought ate better organized, I will share them with you. And any further comments, suggestions or observations are greatly appreciated.

To My Protestant Friends

By Jennifer Patrick

That eye hath seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him. — 1 Corinthians 2:9

Remember the digging that we did in the Rocky Mountains with our friends? Our dear husbands dug down to the very tree roots to amass a pile of crystals. On our honeymoon, we dug for a half day on the breezy Maritimes seashore, and you have a carefully assorted box of colorful ocean glass to show for your rugged determination.

As we get older, it is essential for us to seek, find and carefully keep the eternal treasure Jesus has promised only to those who truly love Him — by prayerfully digging with all zeal and determination to find and take possession the roots of True Faith. But we must not be taken by fool’s gold on this quest!

The “Roots” of Protestantism

Proud Martin Luther died in regret over the chaos that he had caused in separating from the Church, outside of which there is no salvation. Despite letters from the Church that lovingly, reasonably pleaded reconciliation, he contrived his false doctrines Sola Fidei and Sola Scriptura (“By Faith Alone; By Scripture Alone“). Luther led the “Reformation,” which upon thorough investigation, was truly a Deformation. Luther did not believe Apostle St. John, the beloved disciple who laid his head on the breast of our Lord at the Last Supper! Luther mocked the New Testament book of St. James, calling it “the Epistle of Straw,” along with other unmentionably vile remarks.

Even his closest friends warned him. Only because of their forceful insistence did he leave four books in the New Testament that he’d determined to remove- including The Apocalypse: Revelation- with the other seven that he did remove. It is anathema- resulting in God’s condemnation- to add or subtract from the Sacred Canon of the Bible, which was set in three holy councils in the fourth century. The Decrees of the Council of Trent clearly render baseless the errant arguments for the removal of those Biblical books, which Protestants have long misunderstood as “Dueterocanonical,” or “Apocryphal”. Five hundred plus years later, Luther’s one, broken branch has disintegrated into 30,000 plus Protestant denominations, all which are founded on his false doctrines, whether they acknowledge it or not!

Since the author of Protestant doctrine is Luther, he is the head of every one of those churches, not Christ.

Cut off from our Mother Church long ago, Luther’s shattered branch is continually disintegrating. Divisions inevitably form by conflicts of false doctrines, as arguments over contrived Scripture interpretations and applications produce more and more irreparable fractures. This continuous decay takes place even as “nice people” unwittingly practice Luther’s prideful, gravely erring principle of arbitrary belief: that “we choose what to believe” by making our own inferences from Scripture, ignoring Apostolic teaching and the holy heritage of Church Tradition which comes from Christ Himself, not man.

About Church Tradition

Church Tradition is “…the word of God transmitted orally from Christ to the Apostles concerning faith and morals — not written but transmitted orally from Christ to the Apostles and from them to their successors down to us“— [and it] must be accepted as de fide. “The principal instruments by means of which divine tradition has been conserved are the professions of faith, the sacred liturgy, the writings of the Fathers, the practice of the Church, the acts of the martyrs, and archaeological monuments. Its organ is the living magisterium of the Church, (the Roman Pontiff and the bishops, united with and subordinate to him),” (Dictionary of Dogmatic Theology, Pietro Parente, Antonio Piolanti, Salvatore Garofolo, 1951).

Protestant doctrine is not true doctrine, rather, it is false doctrine. It is heresy, the deadly poison in a glass of water. Just as one drop of arsenic in a glass of artesian well water can kill many people, so heresy does to souls by denying any- even one- article of Faith, despite maintaining the rest. This denial of one or more articles of Faith is most often done with subtlety and craft, which can be seen starting with the Epistles of St. Paul as he fought the heretics within the Church, and warned the faithful away from them (“the circumcision”). The continual battle of the Church against heresy, including Arianism and Modernism, is amply documented, including by the testimonies of the Lives of the Saints.

Luther openly defied the Apostles, along with their teachings given with Divine authority and power directly by Jesus Christ. Luther said and wrote horrific things about Our Lord, and tore books out of the Holy Bible. Little do most people know that the Bible versions they possess are but his raped, falsified version of Scripture- yes, even the reknown King James Version. King James also perversely rebelled against Christ’s Church.

A bad tree cannot produce good fruit. A heretic cannot establish true doctrine. We must fully reject and not accept Luther’s faulty Protestant foundation- it shall not stand; it perishes indeed. Nor should we foolishly insist that a non-Catholic Christian Church (Protestant or Anglican) is somehow on good standing, separate from Luther. Only one true Church is firmly built by Christ on the Rock: St. Peter.

This isn’t boring, irrelevant Church history that we can safely ignore. Rather, it is crucial to our salvation. It took the discovery of this enormous, ugly truth about the roots of Protestantism to get me to do what I never would have done otherwise: renounce my license in local church ministry, physically turn in my “church keys,” and throw away twenty years of Bible studies, missions trips, all my social media, including ASCAP “worship” music publishing. Walking away from the false church was walking away from people who were much closer to me than any flesh and blood relatives.

But it HAD to be so.

I care about those dear families and close friends more than words can say. But this is much like the painful situation of a Mormon who discovers that Joseph Smith was a false prophet who said and did very bad things in opposition to the teachings of Christ. That former Mormon, for the love of God, simply cannot stay in what he had once firmly believed to be his happy “church family” or “community” any longer. He must follow Christ at all costs.

The exact same thing applies to finding out the truth about Protestantism. We must not only be willing to give up mother, father, family, friends, and properties in order to follow Christ as He commands — but we must also actually DO it.

We must get back to the true roots of Faith in order to be saved. At all costs, we must believe and obey what Jesus taught His Apostles in order to partake of the Redemption He merited for us by His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. He has made all of this very clear. Grace isn’t an ambiguous, feel-good free ticket to Heaven. We must cooperate with God’s grace in order to be saved, and this is in obedience to the Church, as He commands. If we love Him, we will obey Him and those He sent to tend our souls. He tells us so.

Apostolic Roots

Apostle Saint John, the Lord’s beloved disciple, is pictured here at the Last Supper, sorrowfully reclining his head on Our Saviour’s breast. From that upper room- the Cenacle- Our Lord took St. John, his brother St. James, and St. Peter to witness His Agony in the Garden of Olives, telling them to watch and pray, lest they fall into temptation. He knew that “when the Shepherd has been struck, the sheep would be scattered.”

St. John returned to follow our Lord to the Cross. He witnessed Jesus’ unbearable torment and the incomparable anguish of Mary, the Mother of God. From the beginning the Church has taught that through St. John, Our Lord gave to all of us His Mother as He spoke these words from the Cross, the Holy Tree: “When Jesus therefore had seen His mother and the disciple standing whom He loved, He saith to His mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, He saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.”

Apostle St. John died a holy death, receiving the glorious crown of martyrdom. When he was quite elderly, suffering a desolate exile on the isle of Patmos, he was given the Revelation: the Bible Book of the Apocalypse. This is a divine vision about the end times, into which you and I were born. It is a time of great deception, of pride, of “choice,” of selfishness, of wickedness. As prophesied, the Great Apostasy has come to pass, and the true Church has fled to the deserts there to keep the Faith, while false shepherds inhabit the holy places and pretend to be Christ’s holy ones.

Do not be fooled by the scandals attributed to Christ’s Catholic Church, His spotless Bride. She has kept the Faith, as our Lord said She would, by the Holy Ghost. For centuries, true popes warned us about the imposters responsible for these modern scandals. The whore of Babylon has stood in the Holy Place for over 65 years — Luther was merely a precursor to the Antichrist. Like him, the false popes have with silver tongues ravaged the Holy Mass, the Sacraments, and cleverly inserted their false doctrine.

True Apostolic doctrine is a very necessary shield of Faith. Modern deception is so insidious that Our Lord said that when He returns, will He even find faith on the earth?! And he warned us that there would arise false Christs and false prophets … insomuch as to deceive (if possible) the elect. This being the case, we cannot afford to be presumptuous and/or half-hearted. Instead, we must humbly, diligently seek the truth at all costs.

When teachers mark/grade science papers, it is necessary that every letter, number, and symbol must be exact for an answer to pass as correct. This principle applies in the sciences, and in so many aspects of our daily life, such as in medicine, legislation, sports, and the most basic of the unalterable laws of nature. So too it is that the true doctrine of the Christian Faith must not be changed in the least. Our Lord Jesus Christ is known to be the same yesterday, today, and always, for He is the unchangeable, eternal God, and Son of God, the Second Divine Person of the Most Holy Trinity, with Whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration (James 1:17). There is no such thing as a “slight altering” of Christ’s doctrine that is not in grave error. This is why we can no longer trust anyone who wears the clothing of a pastor, but does not teach Apostolic doctrine just as it has been taught from the very beginning.

Upon Christ’s Apostles alone did He confer His Authority and Power to teach His doctrine– meaning what we must believe and do in order to be saved. To His disciples He said, “He that heareth you, heareth Me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth Me; and he that despiseth Me, despiseth him that sent Me.” Christ made Apostle Saint Peter our very first “Papa Nostro,” our holy father, the pope:

“And Jesus looking upon him, said: Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is interpreted Peter. “And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.”

In the first two chapters of Acts the disciples persevere in prayer with Mary, are baptized by the Holy Ghost, they speak in tongues, St. Peter addresses the crowd, and “they therefore that received his word, were baptized; and there were added in that day three thousand souls. And they were persevering in the doctrine of the Apostles, and in the communication of the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

Our Lord Himself made it abundantly clear that outside His Church — the Barque of Saint Peter — there is no salvation. Unlike Luther’s dead, splintered branch which is in the continuous decay of disunity, the Church has four marks: She is One, Holy, Apostolic and Roman Catholic. She is unified in doctrine, for all that She teaches was revealed to Her and entrusted to Her by Jesus Christ Himself, Who can neither deceive nor be deceived.

There is a necessary hierarchy in the Church as Christ established it. The sheep and lambs Jesus referred to are in the Learning Church — we are laity. The Teaching Church is composed of the pastors — shepherds. Christ appointed them with divine power and authority to feed and guard us. It is our job to learn from the Teaching Church.

In Canada, a proper teaching license is required, even for substitute teachers. How much more so does the necessity of duly appointed authority apply to the care of our eternal souls? In the case of the Faith and the Church, Divine authority is imperative.

Christ is the Author, perfector and finisher of our faith, and He established the Catholic Church for this very purpose. Christ entrusted the Divine Deposit of Faith to His Church, governed by true popes- His appointed Vicar on earth. The Church is the sole guardian of the deposit of divine revelation in its twofold form, Scripture and Tradition. In unbroken succession, She alone has preserved the Faith from the contamination of error and defended her children against the insidious poison of heresy.

It is imperative — a matter of eternal life and death- that we wisely use the time He has given us to save our souls by prayerfully learning from, trusting and obeying Him and His Church:

“For the doctrine of the faith which God has revealed is put forward not as some philosophical discovery capable of being perfected by human intelligence, but as a divine deposit committed to the Spouse of Christ to be faithfully protected and infallibly promulgated. Hence, too, that meaning of the sacred dogmas is ever to be maintained which has once been declared by holy Mother Church, and there must never be any abandonment of this sense under the pretext or in the name of a more profound understanding.” the First [and only true] Vatican Council

We must not follow Luther’s false doctrine that leads to hell. We must be certain that the Faith we believe and obey is the very same one which Christ gave to His Apostles:

On Luke 6:13, Christ’s choosing of The Twelve, Haydock’s Commentary relates: “These twelve Christ chose as individual companions and domestics. To these He committed the charge of founding and governing His Church. He sent them as legates, or ambassadors (for this is the import of the word apostle), to all the world. Hence their power was more universal……The jurisdiction of the Apostles was not limited to place.” Tirinus. Saint Augustine, Doctor of the Apostles writes:

“This power which Jesus Christ delegated to his Apostles, and which was for the benefit and regulation of the universal Church in all future ages, the Apostles, in their turn, delegated to their successors in the ministry, with such regulations and limitations as have been judged in the Holy Ghost necessary for the proper government of the spiritual kingdom of God upon earth. And it is the height of presumption to question any ordinations that come to us with the authority of the Catholic Church: for, “whatever the Church says, is true; whatever She permits is lawful; whatever She forbids, is evil; whatever She ordains, is holy; whatever She institutes, is good.”

Since the false election of antipope Roncalli which followed the death of our last true pope, Pius XII, Antichrist Montini presided over anti council “Vatican II.” All the Church bishops participated in that illicit, heretical council where the Mass and Sacraments were violated in abominable abrogation of Canon Law. This was the Great Apostasy: all bishops lost their Holy Orders and jurisdiction, by ipso facto excommunication — no trial or hearing necessary, according to Canon Law. They had failed to refuse the false pastors, that is, antipope Roncalli and Antichrist Montini, they failed to lawfully elect a true pope before it was too late.

So now, over 65 years later, without a true pope since the apostolic succession was broken, and no bishops remain with true succession of holy orders, there is no jurisdiction, not even the invocation of “epikeia” — a provisional, exceptional law that certainly requires a pope to oversee it. In short, the Church is in the wilderness, without a true pope, bishop or priest. This is in fulfillment of Scripture and hundreds of years of clear, unanimous warnings of the popes, Church Fathers and Doctors.

How do we learn and keep the Faith now when “that which holds back”- the pope with his keys of binding and loosing- has been taken out of the way? (Thessalonians) We can still learn from the Divine Deposit of Faith by the Teaching Church that has gone before us, which I will explain after making a point on the governance of family, which has an application to us in the Church now, orphaned of our holy father.

When a family loses its father, instead of turning to one another (in the case of the Church, to self-appointed, illicit ” pastors”), we turn to our Mother. Call on Mary — it pleases the Lord that we seek Her guidance, protection and intercession, because She is His Mother- — indeed the actual Mother of God — and He has given Her to us as our Mother, even as He gave Himself to us as our Savior! For those of us new to praying to the Saints, it is not a sin. Baltimore Catechism Three teaches us the reasons why it is well in keeping with God’s will to ask the saints, especially the Blessed Virgin Mary, to pray for us.

For learning the Faith, free from error, we can find many good Catholic books and documents, that bear on their publication page the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur stamps dated before October 9, 1958 (the death of Pope Pius XII).

The Church by historical precedence has much necessary instruction to give us in this time of dire deprivation. The website betrayed Catholics has an excellent free book available upon request, entitled, “When There is No Priest- Survival Manual for Remnant Catholics,” currently in revision by the author (2026). In this helpful manual, we can learn how to keep the Faith through the Church’s instructions and examples of the clergy and obedient, faithful laity who lived through similar extraordinary times, including: the Japanese who kept the Faith for 200 years without priests to help them, the faithful in times of persecution (French Revolution; England in the “Deformation”), Father Demaris’ letter “They Have Taken Away my Lord.”

Fr. Demaris’ letter provides courage necessary to our perseverance, along with practical instructions. In this time when “they have taken away our Lord” by the cessation of the Mass, and the modern flood of neopaganism that seems to have swept away from the earth the true Faith, we can and must take heart. For in this time when the pastor has been struck and the sheep scattered, the Lord will turn His Hand to His Little ones.

To His Apostles Christ promised that He would be with them, even unto the end:

“Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” (St. Matthew 28:19-20)

We can be sure that we are living in the time immediately prior to the consummation, the Apocalypse. The Church at this time — also called the Mystical Body of Christ — is following His footsteps in Her Passion, as prophesied. It is as He says it is: to share in His joy we must first share in His suffering. The road is broad that leads to destruction; the road is narrow that leads to salvation. We must daily deny ourselves, take up the Cross and carry it, following after Jesus. Our Lord told us so very many solemn truths, as did His holy Evangelists and Apostles throughout the New Testament, through whom we learn-

This life is not about the accumulation of worldly goods; we must come out of the world: for what good does it profit a man to gain his life here, but lose his soul forever? He even told us that we must hate our lives in this world in order to be with Him in Heaven, and said many such things to encourage and warn us. Jesus was grieved when the rich young ruler who obeyed God’s commands walked away from Him because he wasn’t willing to do what Our Saviour asked: to sell everything he had, give to the poor, follow Him, and he would have Treasures in Heaven. We must lose our life in this world if we are to live with Him in the next. Remember the man in Jesus’ parable who sold all he had to buy a field which contained the Pearl of Greatest price?

“This hidden treasure (“pearl”) is the gospel of Christ, which conducts to the kingdom of heaven. Thus he who by the knowledge which the gospel affords, has found the kingdom of heaven, should purchase it at the expense of everything most near and dear to him: he cannot pay too great a price for his purchase.”(from Haydock’s Commentary on the official Holy Bible , compilation of Church Fathers and Doctors). I don’t want to gain the world and lose my soul. By the grace of God, I want to love and obey Him, and in doing so to save my soul. I want that for you too, my beloved husband.

So, let us “lay aside every weight and sin which surrounds us, let us run by patience to the fight proposed to us.” Let us daily seek, knock and ask Jesus to lead us into all truth at all costs. Time is shorter than we think, and eternity approaches. We must not take either for granted! Now, dear husband, let’s roll up our sleeves, and begin digging for True Treasure, solely found in Christ’s one, true, holy, Apostolic Roman Catholic Church.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +

All the links here are a good starting point, which we can take up with daily humble prayer, to persevere in learning and practicing the Faith- all by God’s grace! 🌹

Reference links

Please note that while these resources contain very helpful information regarding their specific citations, most websites are sadly in error about the Faith. For an excellent introduction and general overview of the modern crisis, and what the Church teaches us about how to learn, love, live and keep the Faith in this extraordinary time, see YouTube Channel: Heavenly Gems, for the three-part video series: catacomb Catholics.

Because many times websites and pages disappear or change addresses, below I have cited resources for all the above hyperlinks- in case they don’t work, you will hopefully still be able to find the references by searching.

List of links (mostly) in order of citations:

Sola Scriptura

https://www.catholicapologetics.info/apologetics/general/solascript.htm

also see: “Twenty-One Reasons to Reject Sola Scriptura” By Joel Peters

https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=598

About the Bible

https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02543a.htm

The Council of Trent:

The Roman Catechism

Catechism of the Council of Trent; Edited under St. Charles of Borromeo; Published by the Decree of Pope St. Pius V;

Translated by JOHN A. MCHUGH, O. P., CHARLES J. CALLAN, O. P.

https://www.catholicsociety.com/documents/Catechism_of_the_Council%20of_Trent.pdf

Ripperger videos and thoughts on who really needs to repent

by T. Stanfill Benns | Jun 4, 2026 | New Blog

Prayer Intention for June, Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

“Sweet Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us and on our erring brethren!” (Raccolta)

+Feast of Corpus Christi+

Introduction

I wanted to address “Fr.” Chad Ripperger’s YouTube video that explains how Catholics today have been deceived and another video of his that warns of an impending chastisement. Ripperger is, of course, presenting as a true priest and exorcist, but he’s a non-Catholic Novus Ordo minister. We know that this sect does not receive true holy orders, so he’s a layman. In his video on Catholics being deceived, he’s telling people that the church that ordained him and gave him whatever powers he thinks he has as an exorcist has actually been promoting false doctrine. Having said that, he has nothing to say about how a Church that Christ promised the gates of hell could never prevail against could possibly promote false doctrine, but that’s another matter.

Why the deceit

In any event, he is telling people what false doctrine is being promoted, why it’s being promoted, how it’s being promoted. And he’s very skillfully manipulating the truth to make it appear that you can basically have a church teaching false doctrine that’s still a true church. Yet at the same time, he indicates that you need to seek the truth elsewhere. So how he figures that, I have no idea. Ripperger rightly blames modernism and cites emotionalism versus doctrine as being the heresy of today that’s leading people astray. Well, of course it is. Pope Pius X pointed that out in his Pascendi Dominici Gregis. And he’s questioning why people cite Christ’s mercy as basically a whitewash for everything that is done wrong and explains that that’s not how it works. Mercy is tempered by justice, and God’s justice must also have its day. Ripperger notes there is theological confusion and a weakening of discernment, in general that is afflicting people today. Well, of course there is. Why? He could explain it, but he doesn’t. He’s citing John Paul II and Ratzinger as if they’re true popes, so we know where he stands.

Christ IS a merciful God, but he expects us to use our brains, and he expects us to study and pray, look into things, do what we’re supposed to do and try our best at whatever we do to find Him. And if we don’t do that, then we can’t expect him to be a merciful God. He says that for some reason, they’re trying to reverse the natural law and divine revelation, and they are, and they have been for a long time, and we know that. And we’ve pointed out how they’ve done that and where they have done that and what is the cause of it. He says that loyalty to doctrine is interpreted as a personality flaw, and orthodoxy is equated to emotionalism and even mental instability. Well, that’s not surprising. He also goes into how psychological language has replaced theological language. In short, he wants to let Catholics know they’ve been deceived, but he isn’t willing to go to the wall and explain the real reason for the deception, how and why. And he weaves his tale with just enough truth to draw the unwary into his lair. And while he recommends people study their faith, that study could only be conducted from the polluted NO sources he is party to. It’s something I have been saying for 40-some years and urging people to do, from sources that can be trusted.

In several of my blogs, I’ve warned readers against watching these people. They’re tricky, and they can easily deceive; they can make it sound like they know what they’re talking about. But we have to remember, this man has no real authority — he is just another layperson circulating videos. And a lot of people will say, “Well, who are you to call him on the carpet?” Well, who am I? I’m a layperson, just like he’s a layperson. As a Catholic layperson, under Can. 1325, I have the obligation to call out anyone who is teaching falsely regarding the Catholic faith and misrepresenting their credentials. And while his title as exorcist draws many to him as an expert, he cannot exorcise by the authority of the Church. He may have the power to exorcise as a layperson, but he lacks true jurisdiction granted to a priest to exorcise in the name of the Church.

**Notes from a real exorcist**

The Franciscan exorcist Rev. Dominic Szymanski wrote in his A Notebook on the Devil and Exorcism (1944): “Exorcism is private if it is performed not in the name and authority of the Church, but in the name of the expelling person. If some good holy layman would undertake to exclude the devil from a possessed person, he would be performing a solemn private exorcism for which no permission is necessary from the ordinary. The Church restricts the public use of the power of her ordained exorcists, not private persons. What is permitted to a layperson cannot be denied to a priest. When the priest acts as a private person, he should not use the exorcism stole. Although public exorcisms performed by the authority of the Church are more effective, nevertheless the demon may also be expelled from possessed persons by private exorcisms. Christ has promised not only to His apostles, but to all who will believe in His name that they will cast out the devils:

“These signs shall follow them that believe: In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:17-18). Exorcisms should be used often, and whenever they are needed. When the permission is necessary, it should be obtained. Superiors are not free to say yes or no, however. if the case is certain, it must be yes, because the sacramentals cannot be denied to a person who reasonably asks for them. It is a serious infringement of duty and inexcusable sin to leave a person in the power and tyranny of the devil who torments his victims day and night” (See Rev. Szymanski’s book HERE, but please ignore the post Vatican 2 footnotes).

In the Introduction to Rev. Szymanski ‘s work the editors of Immaculata Magazine wrote in the early 1970s: “Twenty years ago a Notebook on the Devil and Exorcism would have been unsalable. At that time, with the exception of a few hidden pockets of devil worshippers, the devil preferred to remain in the background and generally well hidden. It seems as though he were awaiting the “new morality” and the drug cult first before seeking open worship from fellow creatures. According to Mike Warnke, a former Satanist high priest, the devil wins our young people to devil worship through the bait of unlimited sex, drugs and money. With more and more of our society falling under his domination through sin, the devil seems to have thrown away the cover that he is an imaginary buffoon with horns and a long tail. He has openly shown himself in our day as “Prince of the world.” And we do not even want to speculate on the number of possessions existing in the world today.

In 1945, C.J. Woolen wrote an article for the December Homiletic and Pastoral Review (H & P) entitled “A Schizophrenic Generation” calling for a worldwide exorcism., possible given the time frame after reading Szymanski’s work. Jean Lehrmitte, in Soundings on Satanism, by various authors, describes hysteria as pseudo-possession, and certainly hysteria is rampant today. Yet his theory is called into question by another author in the same book. F. M. Catherinet. Writing on the many demoniacs cured by Christ that are recorded in the Gospels, Catherinet even goes so far as to state that “all true diabolic possession is accompanied, in fact and by a quasi-necessity, by mental or nervous troubles amplified or produced by the demon.” (And the Devil’s means of amplifying these nervous troubles has been greatly assisted today by the wide variety and availability of both prescription and illegal drugs, which induce relaxed mental states he can easily manipulate.)

So the Evil One can either exacerbate such mental states, thereby installing himself at this point of least resistance, or actually produce them — either out of whole cloth or aided by the use of psychoactive drugs/narcotics — to gain access to the intellect. By the time such a malady comes to the attention of a psychiatrist, it seems likely that it already has advanced sufficiently to admit of such demonic installation. Catherinet admits the capability of psychiatrists to identify the mental condition, but denies them the right to exclude the possibility of possession. “The doctor…if he enjoys the light of faith, will never exclude a priori, and in some cases may well suspect the presence and action of some occult power behind the malady.” As Pope St. Pius X, quoting Pope Leo XIII, stated in condemning the Modernists: “If you carefully search for the cause of errors, you will find that it lies in the fact that in these days, when the natural sciences absorb so much study, the more severe and lofty studies have been proportionately neglected…They have been disfigured by perverse doctrines and monstrous errors.”

Lay exorcism cautions

Although we may exorcise as lay people, these exorcisms do not have the spiritual effects that an exorcism from a truly good and holy priest would have if done by such a priest. We’re sinful creatures begging for assistance. We don’t have jurisdiction. We don’t have powers. We’re asking God to help us regardless. That’s not going to have the same effect as an official exorcism. if we get too deeply into these things, as I’ve warned especially one Traditionalist who contacted me about this, we risk running into real spiritual danger and exceeding our limitations. As one saying goes, “Be careful, when peering into the abyss, lest the abyss peer back into you.” If you want to exorcise someone, a family member perhaps, or a person that is begging you to do it, do it privately, in your home, with people of like mind who could be there to witness it. But to treat it as a service readily available to others on a regular basis, no. In my opinion, that is neither pleasing to God, nor is it going to be helpful to the people afflicted by the devil. And yes, it may appear that it has benefited some people; that’s possible. But we never know for sure whether that is because Christ is assisting us, or the devil is tricking us. And if you read spiritual books and look into discernment, it will tell you that. One of the finest, Sancta Sophia by Rev. Baker, specifically treats of this situation.

In ending his talk, Ripperger says the crises won’t be resolved by making the faith more palatable, that it can only be resolved by God. He tells us to pray the rosary for sin, for our own sins and for purification of the Church, all good recommendations. And finally, he says, don’t give up hope. Well, it depends on what you call hope. And that is what brings us to the second video on the chastisement. Here is what he has to say on why “punishment is coming.”

The Divine Chastisement

God has warned us of this punishment in both Scripture and private prophecy and He has been very patient. He cites Sodom and Gomorrah, the disobedient Israelites, Nineveh and Tyre as types of punishment. He also names the seven deadly sins and explains how the commission of all these has been magnified a millionfold, likewise the sins crying to heaven for vengeance. Leaders of nation and the clergy he identifies as far more culpable. True repentance is still possible he says, but… “You can’t treat a disease you refuse to name.” Really? Of course he cannot name the disease or how it has spread without incriminating himself, so it remains unnamed. He emphasizes true repentance but does not go into any detail about what all is involved to achieve it. He recommends that Catholics return to Church, frequent the Sacraments, fast, do penance, become souls of reparation, consecrate their families to the Sacred Heart. But what he doesn’t say, what he dares not say, is what really needs to happen and it is the only thing that might possibly forestall the Divine vengeance or mitigate it at least, (although I fully believe it will be exacted, regardless).

All of us must certainly repent, but that alone is not enough. It is the leaders of the world pretending to rule legitimately, the scions of “Christianity,” the “hierarchy” of Rome, the Patriarchate of the East and all other heads of world religion who must step down from their imposture as men of God, fall on their faces and beg God’s forgiveness — every one of them. Telling us to repent as though we are the ones who have behaved badly after being persecuted, propagandized and misled by these usurpers and hirelings all these years is rich indeed. He tells us not to be afraid, but if I were him, I would be very afraid.

There is one thing we can do, and it is an act of mercy itself. We can say our exorcism prayers daily, and beg God to end this diabolical deception. At this point, many tell me, a chastisement or the General Judgment would almost be a relief to escape from the horrors of this unbelievably wicked world. Pray always, pray and watch. Dear Jesus, come quickly and do not delay.

Some Scripture selections reflecting our troubled times

by T. Stanfill Benns | May 19, 2026 | New Blog

+St. Bernardine of Siena, Confessor+

Introduction

In one of his lesser works, St. Thomas Aquinas mentions that the following (Psalm 82) was written to be said by the faithful in the end times. Calling down justice on our leaders seems in these days to be the only recourse given their lawlessness, deceit and frightening disregard for those they govern. In the second Scripture reading from Isaias, we see how God turns a deaf ear to those who sin with impunity and will not hear their prayers. This is how Israel must have felt before the coming of the Redeemer. It does seem we live in darkness at times, like dead men. Truth has been forgotten, and we are the prey of our enemies. We do our best to patiently await God’s judgment. Ezekiel warns those who present as little tin gods what will happen to them; how they shall forfeit their kingdoms, be they kings of nations or those reigning unjustly during an interregnum. Let us hope we are not those slain “in the heart of the sea” the prophet mentions in these verses, although we know that our country cannot survive much longer as things stand today. We pray, we watch and beg for God’s mercy.

Deus, quis similis. A prayer against the enemies of God’s Church.

“A canticle of a psalm for Asaph.

“O God, who shall be like to thee? hold not thy peace, neither be thou still, O God. For lo, thy enemies have made a noise: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken a malicious counsel against thy people, and have consulted against thy saints. They have said: Come and let us destroy them, so that they be not a nation: and let the name of Israel be remembered no more.

“For they have contrived with one consent: they have made a covenant together against thee. The tabernacles of the Edomites, and the Ismahelites: Moab, and the Agarens, Gebal, and Ammon and Amalec: the Philistines, with the inhabitants of Tyre. Yea, and the Assyrian also is joined with them: they are come to the aid of the sons of Lot. Do to them as thou didst to Madian and to Sisara: as to Jabin at the brook of Cisson.

“Who perished at Endor: and became as dung for the earth. Make their princes like Oreb, and Zeb, and Zebee, and Salmana. All their princes, Who have said: Let us possess the sanctuary of God for an inheritance. O my God, make them like a wheel; and as stubble before the wind. As fire which burneth the wood: and as a flame burning mountains:

“So shalt thou pursue them with thy tempest: and shalt trouble them in thy wrath. Fill their faces with shame; and they shall seek thy name, O Lord. Let them be ashamed and troubled for ever and ever: and let them be confounded and perish. And let them know that the Lord is thy name: thou alone art the most High over all the earth.”

Isaias 59: 2-21

The dreadful evil of sin is displayed, as the great obstacle to all good from God: yet he will send a Redeemer, and make an everlasting covenant with his church.

“Behold the hand of the Lord is not shortened that it cannot save, neither is his ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have divided between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that he should not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity: your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue uttereth iniquity. There is none that calleth upon justice, neither is there any one that judgeth truly: but they trust in a mere nothing, and speak vanities: they have conceived labour, and brought forth iniquity. They have broken the eggs of asps, and have woven the webs of spiders: he that shall eat of their eggs, shall die: and that which is brought out, shall be hatched into a basilisk.

Their webs shall not be for clothing, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are unprofitable works, and the work of iniquity is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are unprofitable thoughts: wasting and destruction are in their ways. They have not known the way of peace, and there is no judgment in their steps: their paths are become crooked to them, every one that treadeth in them, knoweth no peace. Therefore is judgment far from us, and justice shall not overtake us. We looked for light, and behold darkness: brightness, and we have walked in the dark. We have groped for the wall, and like the blind we have groped as if we had no eyes: we have stumbled at noonday as in darkness, we are in dark places as dead men.

“We shall roar all of us like bears, and shall lament as mournful doves. We have looked for judgment, and there is none: for salvation, and it is far from us. For our iniquities are multiplied before thee, and our sins have testified against us: for our wicked doings are with us, and we have known our iniquities: In sinning and lying against the Lord: and we have turned away so that we went not after our God, but spoke calumny and transgression: we have conceived, and uttered from the heart, words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice hath stood far off: because truth hath fallen down in the street, and equity could not come in. And truth hath been forgotten: and he that departed from evil, lay open to be a prey: and the Lord saw, and it appeared evil in his eyes, because there is no judgment.

“And he saw that there is not a man: and he stood astonished, because there is none to oppose himself: and his own arm brought salvation to him, and his own justice supported him. He put on justice as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head: he put on the garments of vengeance, and was clad with zeal as with a cloak. As unto revenge, as it were to repay wrath to his adversaries, and a reward to his enemies: he will repay the like to the islands. And they from the west, shall fear the name of the Lord: and they from the rising of the sun, his glory: when he shall come as a violent stream, which the spirit of the Lord driveth on: And there shall come a redeemer to Sion, and to them that return from iniquity in Jacob, saith the Lord.

“This is my covenant with them, saith the Lord: My spirit that is in thee, and my words that I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever.

Ezekiel 28 — warning to the King of Tyre

“And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus saith the Lord God: Because thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said: I am God, and I sit in the chair of God in the heart of the sea: whereas thou art a man, and not God: and hast set thy heart as if it were the heart of God.

“Behold thou art wiser than Daniel: no secret is hid from thee. In thy wisdom and thy understanding thou hast made thyself strong: and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures. By the greatness of thy wisdom, and by thy traffic thou hast increased thy strength: and thy heart is lifted up with thy strength.

“Therefore, thus saith the Lord God: Because thy heart is lifted up as the heart of God: Therefore behold, I will bring upon thee strangers, the strongest of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy beauty.

“They shall kill thee, and bring thee down: and thou shalt die the death of them that are slain in the heart of the sea. Wilt thou yet say before them that slay thee: I am God; whereas thou art a man, and not God, in the hand of them that slay thee?

“Thou shalt die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.”

And this one is my favorite, from the book of Daniel, who foretold what we suffer today:

Daniel 9: 3-20

“And I set my face to the Lord my God, to pray and make supplication with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God, and I made my confession, and said: I beseech thee, O Lord God, great and terrible, who keepest the covenant, and mercy to them that love thee, and keep thy commandments. We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly, and have revolted: and we have gone aside from thy commandments, and thy judgments.

“We have not hearkened to thy servants the prophets, that have spoken in thy name to our kings, to our princes, to our fathers, and to all the people of the land. To thee, O Lord, justice: but to us confusion of face, as at this day to the men of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel to them that are near, and to them that are far off in all the countries whither thou hast driven them, for their iniquities by which they have sinned against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our princes, and to our fathers that have sinned. But to thee, the Lord our God, mercy and forgiveness, for we have departed from thee: And we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his law, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

“And all Israel have transgressed thy law, and have turned away from hearing thy voice, and the malediction, and the curse, which is written in the book of Moses the servant of God, is fallen upon us, because we have sinned against him. And he hath confirmed his words which he spoke against us, and against our princes that judged us, that he would bring in upon us a great evil, such as never was under all the heaven, according to that which hath been done in Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: and we entreated not thy face, O Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and think on thy truth. And the Lord hath watched upon the evil, and hath brought it upon us: the Lord our God is just in all his works which he hath done: for we have not hearkened to his voice. And now, O Lord our God, who hast brought forth thy people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and hast made thee a name as at this day: we have sinned, we have committed iniquity,

“O Lord, against all thy justice: let thy wrath and thy indignation be turned away, I beseech thee, from thy city Jerusalem, and from thy holy mountain. For by reason of our sins, and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem, and thy people are a reproach to all that are round about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear the supplication of thy servant, and his prayers: and shew thy face upon thy sanctuary which is desolate, for thy own sake. Incline, O my God, thy ear, and hear: open thy eyes, and see our desolation, and the city upon which thy name is called: for it is not for our justifications that we present our prayers before thy face, but for the multitude of thy tender mercies. O Lord, hear: O Lord, be appeased: hearken and do: delay not for thy own sake, O my God: because thy name is invocated upon thy city, and upon thy people.”

It was Daniel who told us the Holy Sacrifice would betaken away because of sins. The curses of Moses in many ways foretell what will happen to a sinful people and a sinful nation when God’s laws are trodden underfoot and His teachings ignored. It is our hope that readers will meditate on these Scripture verses as they make preparation for the feast of Pentecost.

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Archbishop Andrew on the reign of Antichrist and wicked Babylon

+Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel+

The Apocalypse of St. John

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

An archbishop’s 7th Century commentary on St. John’s Apocalypse

Prayer Intention for July, Month of the Precious Blood of Jesus

Introduction

Interpretation of Andrew, Archbishop of Caesarea, Cappadocia — On the Apocalypse of St. John

Prologue

Guest blog: An appeal to Protestants to return to the Catholic Church

+St. Juliana Falconieri+

Introduction

The “Roots” of Protestantism

About Church Tradition

Apostolic Roots

Ripperger videos and thoughts on who really needs to repent

Prayer Intention for June, Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

+Feast of Corpus Christi+

Introduction

Why the deceit

**Notes from a real exorcist**

Lay exorcism cautions

The Divine Chastisement

Some Scripture selections reflecting our troubled times

+St. Bernardine of Siena, Confessor+

Introduction

Isaias 59: 2-21

Ezekiel 28 — warning to the King of Tyre

Daniel 9: 3-20

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