That the last judgment, then, shall be administered by Jesus Christ in the manner predicted in the sacred writings is denied or doubted by no one, unless by those who, through some incredible animosity or blindness, decline to believe these writings, though already their truth is demonstrated to all the world. And at or in connection with that judgment the following events shall come to pass, as we have learned: Elias the Tishbite shall come; the Jews shall believe; Antichrist shall persecute; Christ shall judge; the dead shall rise; the good and the wicked shall be separated; the world shall be burned and renewed. All these things, we believe, shall come to pass; but how, or in what order, human understanding cannot perfectly teach us, but only the experience of the events themselves. My opinion, however, is, that they will happen in the order in which I have related them.
The City of God (Book XX)Following St Augustine, the last judgment shall be administered by Jesus Christ, and may include various events which will consume some amount of time. These events include the operations of Antichrist, which will happen during a time span before the second coming of Our Lord. These events may either be seen as part of the judgment or as happening in connection with the judgment.
Given that Augustine says in
Letter 208 that there will be apostolic shepherds
even to the end of time, and the judgment of the Lord, his view of the last days allows for the possibility that there won't be apostolic shepherds in the last days, when Antichrist tries to estinguish the Church.
The Vatican Council, saying that Christ promised that there will be shepherds "usque ad consummationem saeculi" gives no precise definition of the term
consummatio saeculi going beyond the words of Our Lord in Mt 28,20.
In Mt 24,14/15 Our Lord seems to suggest that the
consummatio saeculi begins with the
abominatio desolationis. St Chrysostom in the
Opus imperfectum confirms this explicitly, leaving no doubt. In support, I have posted two unequivocal quotes of his.
Conclusion: My opinion about the last days, which I have presented in the opening post and later on in this thread, is in accord with the view of Augustine. As shown before, it is not an arbitrary opinion contrived by myself, but rather it is proposed by Chrysostom in the
Opus imperfectum. The only part I am responsible for is the identification of the Antichrist. Following Chrysostom, the Antichrist is not a single person but hosts of heretics. I identify the 1960's Robber Council and the Conciliar Sect as these hosts of heretics. But the whole topic is independent on the question whether we live in the times of Antichrist or we don't. The main point is: The Vatican Council does not teach that there will be shepherds and teachers until the second coming of Christ, but rather "usque ad consummationem saeculi", which may start some time before the second coming.
Topic: Vatican Council says there will be shepherds "usque ad consummationem saeculi" (Read 25276 times)