While the Fathers and Saints have predicted an age of peace, who is to say that it precedes Antichrist? Could it not happen after his death simultaneous with the conversion of the Jєωs? Scripture promises no age of peace except that which comes after Antichrist is defeated. We aren't promised any of those things (the Great Monarch, etc) except what has been revealed in Scripture, sure, many are approved by the Church, but there's no guarantee they will come to pass. Only what is in Scripture is guaranteed. I honestly believe fulfillment of private prophecy has a lot to do with the faithful following through with God's will (the prophecies of St. Vincent Ferrer, Angel of the Apocalypse, and the conversion which averted the end times in his day)
The aforementioned commentators (Kramer and Berry, the ones I am most familiar with) note that there will even be a last effort, after Antichrist (Apoc. 19:19-20, fall of Antichrist; "the Beast"), of Satan to try and destroy the Church just before Our Lord comes, as found in Apoc. 20:7-10:
And when the thousand years shall be finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go forth, and seduce the nations, which are over the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, and shall gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. [8] And they came upon the breadth of the earth, and encompassed the camp of the saints, and the beloved city. [9] And there came down fire from God out of heaven, and devoured them; and the devil, who seduced them, was cast into the pool of fire and brimstone, where both the beast [10] And the false prophet shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Berry:
Commentary, Apoc. Chapter X, verse 11 (p. 110):
The angel commands St. John to announce to all the prophecy communicated to him concerning the reign of Antichrist, the subsequent triumph of the Church, and the final persecution under Gog and Magog.
Part III Chapter XX (p. 190):
After the defeat of Antichrist the Gentile nations will return to the Church and the Jєωs will enter her fold. Then shall be fulfilled the words of Christ: ''There shall be one fold and one shepherd.'" Unfortunately sin and evil will not have entirely disappeared, the good and the bad will still be mingled in the Church, although the good shall predominate. After many centuries, symbolized by a thousand years, faith will diminish and charity grow cold as a result of the long peace and security enjoyed by the Church. Then Satan, unchained for a short time, will seduce many nations (Gog and Magog) to make war on the Church and persecute the faithful. These apostate nations shall be promptly overwhelmed with a deluge of fire and the Church will come forth again triumphant.
Ch. XX commentary (p. 199-200):
7, 8. At the close of the period, symbolized by a thousand years, Satan will be loosed again for a short time during which he will seduce many nations. From the four quarters of the earth he will assemble an army, numerous as the sands of the sea, to war against the Church,—the camp of the saints. Jerusalem the beloved, then the city of the Popes, will be the chief point of attack; but God will intervene in its defense by raining down fire upon the besieging hosts.
9. These hostile nations are symbolized as Gog and Magog,'—names made famous by the prophecy of Ezechiel in which their invasion and terrible destruction by fire is described at length.
This doesn't conflict with an age of peace
after Antichrist (6th age), where many will convert, followed by a final tumult in which the world is destroyed by fire (Apoc. 20:9 above; end of the 6th age).
Kramer:
Synopsis, Book II (p. 24):
Chapter XX. relates the expulsion of Satan from the world for 1,000 years, the last uprising against the Church by Gog and Magog and the Last Judgment.
2 The Last War of Gog and Magog, Verse 7 (p. 456):
A by-product of the thousand years of peace will be lukewarmness and indifference in the practice of religion. During times of peace and prosperity, evils have sometimes arisen within the Church. There will always be the good and bad in the world as Isaias foretells (LXV. 2 0 ) , and the number of wicked shall grow larger as time goes on. These THOUSAND YEARS are stated in round numbers to denote a period of peace for the Church from Antichrist till the rise of Gog and Magog, and they may be two thousand or several thousand. According to the words of Isaias ( LXV. 2 0 ), a period of only ONE thousand years would seem far too short to bring into actuality in a literal sense what is promised there. Near paradisiac conditions will prevail. Men will live to a great age; the danger to grow lax in the service of God and loyalty to the Church will appear, and evils will multiply as before the Reformation; finally Satan shall be released from his prison to punish the wicked.
(p. 460):
St. John leaves no doubt in his revelation that the THOUSAND YEARS shall follow Antichrist, and at the end of that time Gog shall some up against the Church.
Based on their commentary, which could be
wrong, of course, the age of peace promised by Our Lady (6th age) is more likely that same peace spoken of in the Apocalypse to follow the Antichrist (5th age). Given the state of the world today, we are either in the times preceding Antichrist (which I think is most likely) or we are reaching the last battle of Gog and Magog (end of 6th age)
after Antichrist (whose identity remains unclear, sorry MHFM, but it's
not JPII
).
Given we have not seen a global triumph of the Church or a significant age of peace, it's very clear that we are building up to Antichrist at the end of the 5th age. So, I am in agreement with you, Pax, that there will be these end-of-age cataclysms, but I disagree that the Antichrist will wait til the end of the 6th age given what is revealed in the Apocalypse as expounded by both Fr. Berry and Fr. Kramer here.