I’m still studying the Apocalypse (at a snail’s pace), and have come across something interesting.

It’s a conjunction of chapters 6 and 7.

Apoc. 6:12-17: And I saw, when he had opened the sixth seal, and behold there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair: and the whole moon became as blood:  13 And the stars from heaven fell upon the earth, as the fig tree casteth its green figs when it is shaken by a great wind:  14 And the heaven departed as a book folded up: and every mountain, and the islands were moved out of their places.  15 And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and tribunes, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of mountains: 16 And they say to the mountains and the rocks: Fall upon us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb:  17 For the great day of their wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?

Generally speaking, there is much in the three commentaries I am reading (Ratton, Berry, and Kramer) to indicate that we are in one of the fulfillments of the prophecy of the 6th Seal.

More particularly, is the idea of the coming judgment of God upon the persecutors of the Church, precisely the Vatican II infidels who destroy the Church from within.

Kramer, in his coverage of verses 15-17, speaks about the interior sense of a coming retribution in the consciences of the usurping enemies, namely the “bishops and priests [who] sought the honors and income of the Catholic Church for their enjoyment and aggrandizement.” These enemies “fear the wrath of the Lamb.”

“The wicked of all classes … are filled with dread of the Little Lamb because the day of judgment seems at hand. In the knowledge of their guilt, their troubled conscience antedates the judgment and its terrors. Error and lust cannot stand face to face God’s visitations … [Christ] will throw a searchlight upon those in sin and heresy and cause them in spite of their pretended security to tremble with fear and insecurity.”

Certainly such attributions apply to the Vatican II imposture, very soon to come crumbling down, very soon to feel the wrath of God.

Now Ratton’s comments on verse 16 add meaning:

Apoc. 7:16: And they say to the mountains and the rocks: Fall upon us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb:

Ratton says that that fugitives call upon the mountains and the rocks to fall upon them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb, indicating that they knew they were suffering for their sins.

“… the persecution [Vatican II] was a just punishment from God for the sins of the Church. It had not done penance as prescribed at [Apoc. 2:5]; hence its candlestick [the Papacy] was removed out of its place.”

Apoc. 2:5: Be mindful therefore from whence thou art fallen: and do penance, and do the first works. Or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou do penance.

Vatican II is absolutely one of the fulfillments of this verse.

Put the words of Apoc. 2:5 into the mouth of our Lord via the mouth of our Lady of Fatima (and of Lourdes and of La Salette for that matter). Our Lady made grave exhortations to penance and uttered dire threats should those exhortations remain unheeded.

There is no doubt in my mind that Fatima relates directly to the coming fulfillments of aspects of the prophecy of St. John.

Now Pope Pius XII is often referred to as the Fatima Pope, and for good reason, albeit his association with this great sign from Heaven ended in misfortune.

Moving now to the vision of the Four Horsemen, and specifically to Apoc. 6:8, which refers to the 4th Seal:

Apoc. 6:8: And behold a pale horse, and he that sat upon him, his name was Death, and hell followed him. And power was given to him over the four parts of the earth, to kill with sword, with famine, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Ratton’s commentary on this verse is very interesting in relation to what I’ve cited above. He mentions that the Greek word used to denote the color of the Rider of the pale horse, is green.

Furthermore, the Greek text signifies not Death per se, but “death as personified by a corpse.” Ratton says, “In hot countries a corpse turns green, and is buried within a few hours of death.”

Now recall the facts of Pius XII’s funeral: “Over the 4 day course of the viewing and funeral ceremony, the Pope’s chest ‘exploded’ due to build-up of gas in the chest cavity, then the nose and fingers fell off and the body turned a greenish black colour.”

See: https://surgeonshallmuseums.wordpress.com/2021/08/20/decomposition-the-enemy-of-anatomy-and-embalming-and-the-case-of-the-exploding-pope/#:~:text=Over%20the%204%20day%20course,turned%20a%20greenish%20black%20colour.

“And behold a horse, and he that sat upon him, his name was [Corpse], and hell followed him.”

And hell followed him.

Vatican II followed Pius XII, as did “hell,” i.e. a procession of antipopes.

Vatican II itself is a Green Corpse.

"And power was given to this Green Corpse over the four parts of the earth."

Vatican II is universal in its malign power and scope. "... to kill with sword, with famine, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."

No comment is needed to remind anyone of the deadly and foul fruits of this all-out apostasy from God.

How can not Pius XII’s green corpse not be an apocalyptic sign? How can it not signify Vatican II, itself the punishment for Papal disobedience, and the very subject matter of the Third Secret? Fatima is not to be discarded or determined to be irrelevant or "fulfilled." It is ongoing, and it is the light given to Catholics from Heaven, within the context of which to ponder all prophetic signs.

Apoc. 7:1: After these things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that they should not blow upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor on any tree.

In his commentary on this verse, Ratton relates the four winds back to the Green Corpse, the pale horse with Rider Death: “The angels restrain, as in a leash, the four winds of the earth. These four winds indicate the four scourges placed in the hands of Death, which had power ‘over the four parts of the earth, to kill with the sword, with famine, with pestilence, and with the beasts of the earth.’”

The fruits of Vatican II, the Green Corpse:

1. Death by Sword: Heresy and false teaching.

2. Death by Famine: The suppression of the entire sacramental order, and the order of Divine worship: the Seven Sacraments, the Mass, and the Divine Office.

3. Death by Pestilence: The institutionalization of sodomitical crime.

4. Death by the Beasts of the Earth: The global tyranny of the cult of unregenerate humanity – judaeo-masonry.

The section of the verse that refers to the restraining Angels calls to mind St. Paul’s prophecy in 2 Thessalonians 2:

Let no man deceive you by any means, for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,  4 Who opposeth, and is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself as if he were God.  5 Remember you not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now you know what withholdeth, that he may be revealed in his time.  7 For the mystery of iniquity already worketh; only that he who now holdeth, do hold, until he be taken out of the way.  8 And then that wicked one shall be revealed whom the Lord Jesus shall kill with the spirit of his mouth; and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, him,  9 Whose coming is according to the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders,  10 And in all seduction of iniquity to them that perish; because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Therefore God shall send them the operation of error, to believe lying.

Whether or not there be a man to come, a world ruler, who perfectly fulfills this prophecy of antichrist, there is no doubt that Vatican II also fulfills it, as have other events and personages in previous Church History.

In The Present Crisis of the Holy See, Cardinal Manning strongly opposes the what he calls the Corporate Antichrist thesis, that the Antichrist is not a person but a spirit embodied in a movement, etc. He insists that in the same way Our Lord is a singular person, the final Antichrist will be also a person (a charismatic political leader that will claim to be the Messiah, probably a Jєω, etc.).

Yes, and I belong to Cardinal Manning's school of thought.

Ratton does not, and I think there are folk on this board who do not, and I'm sure there are learned men who do not. Thus I made a non-committal statement.

I think there is quite a lot more Church history to come about before the antichrist, and before the Day of Judgment.

Notwithstanding all that, we are right now in an event that has been foretold by the Book of Revelation, in some sense, in my opinion. Or to put it another way, the Book of Revelation is a useful tool for pondering our current predicament. Or, where in the Book of Revelation may we find guidance and understanding during this great tribulation?