"Surely the world is impregnated with the elements of preternatural evil, which ever and anon, in unhealthy seasons, give lowering and muttering tokens of the wrath to come!"

This is the second in a series of four lectures by Newman on The Patristical Idea of Antichrist, the first lecture of which we released back in January. Whereas the first lecture considered "The Times of Antichrist", this second lecture addresses the question of whether the Antichrist will profess any particular religion at all.

On the one hand, Antichrist will not only reject Christ — he will oppose all religion, all worship, and all that is called God. On the other hand, the Antichrist will be mistaken for the Christ. He will impersonate the Messiah, and therefore will have some connection to Jewish custom, ritual, and the Temple. Further, he will usher in a novel form of false worship, and will do so even as he restores the old Roman Empire.

Newman recalls some remarkable features of the French Revolution to illustrate that "there are ways of fulfilling sacred announcements that seem at first sight contradictory."

As with the first lecture, this present installment is an exhortation to take seriously the prophecies concerning the Antichrist, and to a renewed confidence in God's providence through history.

Links

The Religion of Antichrist Full text: https://www.newmanreader.org/works/arguments/antichrist/lecture2.html

The Times of Antichrist on Catholic Culture Audiobooks: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/st-john-henry-newman-patristical-idea-antichrist-pt-1-times-antichrist/

Way of the Fathers w/ Mike Aquilina, Ep. 32—Julian, the Apostate Who Aped the Church: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/32julian-apostate-who-aped-church/

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