Many attempts have been made trying to predict the end of the world. When will the apocalypse come? Are we living in the end times? Should we fear for all the judgments and tribulations written in the Book of Revelation?
Some thought that the end could come in the year 2012, the end of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, otherwise known as the Mayan calendar. Some associated it with the possible failure of technology in the year 2000 or the Y2K problem. Even Isaac Newton gave his opinion in marking the year 2060 after his attempts to study and investigate the clues that could be found in the Bible.
Will Newton finally get it right? Who among us would still be alive by then to witness it?
Clues and Rumors About the End
Aside from those predictions that specified a certain date or year, there were also various clues that seemed to indicate when the end would be near. Most of these are controversial and have never been officially supported by the Church.
1. St. Malachy and his prophecy on the “Last Pope”
It is said that St. Malachy wrote a long list of all the popes that would be appointed until the end. Hence, after the last one, we can also assume that the end would also come for the world.
It is also very interesting to note that per his list, the last pope could be our recent one, Pope Francis. Here’s what his document says about the last pope:
“Peter the Roman, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations, and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills [i.e. Rome] will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The End.”
2. Pope Leo XIII’s vision
It is said that the Prayer to St. Michael had been inspired by Pope Leo’s vision about the devil. Between 1884 and 1886, he seemed to have had a vision of demos gathering in Rome. He also had a vision of Satan asking Jesus for more time and so that he could destroy the Church. He asked for about 75 to 100 years to accomplish his evil plan.
If you try to consider 100 years after 1886, that would point us to a period that would end in the year 1986. The world did not end even decades after. Was the evil plan a total failure? Or are we merely being given more time to repent?
3. The vision of St. Anne Catherine Emmerich
In one of the writings connected to the saint, St. Anne Catherine Emmerich was quoted to have said:
“…if I remember right, that he (Lucifer) will be unchained for a time fifty or sixty years before the year of Christ 2000. The dates of many other events were pointed out to me which I do not now remember; but a certain number of demons are to be let loose much earlier than Lucifer, in order to tempt men, and to serve as instruments of the divine vengeance. I should think that some must be loosened even in the present day, and others will be set free in a short time.”
What is the significance of the year 2000? Was it the year when evil will be permitted to gain significant influence over the whole world?
Signs of the Last Days
While we may not be given a specific date as to when the end of the world would come, I believe that we would be given “signs” that would help us recognize the end is near.
Here are some signs that I think we could reflect on when it comes to the last days:
1. The hearts of many will grow cold
The Bible itself supports this sign:
“Many will give up their faith at that time; they will betray one another and hate one another. Then many false prophets will appear and fool many people. Such will be the spread of evil that many people’s love will grow cold. But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. And this Good News about the Kingdom will be preached through all the world for a witness to all people; and then the end will come.” – Matthew 24:10-14 (GNT)
Even now, we see this coming true. People talk to each other without respect. Arguments and fights about. People crave for love but do not find it, even in their own families. The only question is, “How much worse could the situation be before the end?”
“But understand this: there will be terrifying times in the last days. People will be self-centered and lovers of money, proud, haughty, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, irreligious, callous, implacable, slanderous, licentious, brutal, hating what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, as they make a pretense of religion but deny its power.” – 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NABRE)
2. There will be signs in nature and in the heavenly bodies
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”- Luke 21:25-28 (NRSVCE)
Near the end of the world, we can see something significant happening on earth and in the heavens. Perhaps heavenly bodies would move in an unusual way or we’d learn about a new phenomenon we’ve never seen before. It could also be that the frequency of natural calamities would be on the rise.
After we see all these things, however, would we learn to believe? Or would people merely see these things through a scientific perspective while ignoring its spiritual significance?
3. Tribulation of the Church
“Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the ‘mystery of iniquity’ in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.” (CCC 675)
We do not know what kinds of tribulations the Church would go through. But we know that even now, it is being attacked from every side. There may come a time when those who have faith will no longer be the majority and when people will hold all those who are religious only fictitious and illogical.
Pope Benedict XVI himself predicted that in the future, the Church would grow small. But what we must remember is that just when we think we have already been cornered, and just when we think it is the end, it is then that God would come and save all those who sincerely call upon His name.
“When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, in order to gather them for battle; they are as numerous as the sands of the sea. They marched up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from heaven and consumed them.” – Revelation 20:7-9 (NRSVCE)
Being Watchful Until the End
We don’t know the exact time when the world will end. But we know for sure that one day, we will pass on from this life to the next. It will be the moment when we will recall how we have lived our lives. It is then when we shall have one last chance to seek and to receive the mercy of God.
Let us not take for granted the time that we still have. God extends His time of mercy out of great love for us. Let us receive His mercy while we can. It is, after all, the one thing we can cling on to in the end.
“Speak to the world about My mercy; let all mankind recognize My unfathomable mercy. It is a sign for the end times; after it will come the day of justice. While there is still time, let them have recourse to the fount of My mercy; let them profit from the Blood and Water which gushed forth for them.” – Jesus to St. Faustina (Divine Mercy In My Soul, 848).
Jocelyn Soriano is a freelance writer and the author of Defending My Catholic Faith where you can also read the bonus chapter “A Personal Analysis Of What The End of Days Will Be Like”.
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