Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:01 Once again, we've come to the end of the liturgical year and once again, the church puts the end of the world for eyes and the read once again remind you that even though it says it's deciding topic, we don't want to get all excited or have some sort of chicken little type of fit. When we started thinking about it, okay, the great Belgian Jesuit Saint John Verge man gives us a perfect example of how we ought to react to this topic. One day during recreation, he was shooting pool a some other seminarians and one of the seminarians turned to him and said, hey, if you found out the world is about to end right now, what would you do without looking up Saint John? Bertrand said, I keep going on shooting pool. Now what's the point of his story? St John was supposed to be taking recreation, which he was.
Speaker 0 00:48 He's supposed to be in the state of grace, which he was. In other words, he was doing just exactly what he was supposed to be doing right at that moment and that's exactly the same thing that our lord expects of each one of us. If we're in a state of grace when we die, that's what really matters, okay? Doing being a state of grace and doing our duty. Remember, the most important thing is not when we live, but it's how we die. That's the most important thing any one of us will do. If we die in the state of grace and we're saved, it's that simple. Okay? Having said that, before we get started, quick review, make sure we all understand what a type is. What's a type a type as a person, place or action that actually exists, but it's also intended by God to prefigure or foreshadow a future person thing or action.
Speaker 0 01:42 I type as a person thing or action. It actually exists, but it's also intended by God to 0.4 to prefigure to foreshadow a future person thing or action. Consider an example from the scriptures to see how this works. In the book of judges, we see jail. Now, this is the woman who saves the people of Israel. How does this woman say the people of Israel, she takes a tent stake and pounds it to the head of an enemy general. It's a great book. Anyway, now there's three types there at least, okay? Obviously, Israel really exists of itself, but Israel is also intended by God to prefigure the Catholic Church. So Israel is a type of the true church. The Catholic Church, the enemy general really existed, but he saw us intended by God to represent Satan and the enemies in the church. So the enemy channel is a type of the devil, okay?
Speaker 0 02:37 And JL, the woman who crushed the head of the San Regena really existed too. But she's also intended by God to prefigure her. And if you look at the statutes from this, now you can see what she's doing. She's crushing the head of the serpent. She's standing right on it, okay? In other words, we can look at JL and see foreshadowings of our lady. So what's a type type? Is a person, a finger or action that really exist, which is also intended by God to prefigure or foreshadow a future person thing. Your action. Okay, that's introduction. Let's turn to the topic and second pest Slovenians two three Saint Paul explicitly teaches that the day of the Lord Judgment Day. That is to say the end of the world can't come until first. There'll be an apostasy, a great falling away from the true faith, a great revolt against the true faith, and then in the wake of that apostasy, the great apostasy, the man is sin, the son of perdition, the antichrist be revealed.
Speaker 0 03:41 In previous years we've seen that the fathers and doctors have explained with this apostasy means, for example, Saint Thomas explains that this capacity will be separation from the faith and from obedience to the pope. Pope Saint Leo the grade living in near 400 teachers that indeed the great apostasy will mean a banding. The faith and obedience to the pope. Saint Augustan adds this event must precede the coming to antichrist and Saint Augustan ads that not all will abandon the faith, but that few will retain it for the next two weeks. We'll consider a period in history, which the fathers and doctors have always seen as a very clear type of the great apostasy who will consider a ruler from that time whom the fathers have considered to be a clear type of the Anti Christ, the man of sin. Now remember, these are types that means that this historical period of man obviously really exists, but they also prefigure their pots to see an antichrist.
Speaker 0 04:42 Why do we want to study this man in his times? Because it clear, we see his foreshadowings that clear. We can make a prefiguring. They clear and idea will give us the actual future reality that they foreshadow. Okay? And God wants us to think about these things, not to have a fit about bottom, not to get worried, but he's told us about it. He's revealed it to us. So he wants us to think about it. Okay? So the time we're going to speak of is the middle of the fourth century. The ruler is the Roman emperor Flavius, Claudius Juliana's more commonly known as Julian the apostate. He's born in three 31 become seasons of the West and three 55 and rules entire empire from three 61 to three 63 the great Carl Newman gives us thumbnail sketch of the situation. Quote, Julian was proceeded, nay. He was nurtured by heresy, but at first great hair.
Speaker 0 05:38 See which disturbed the peace and the purity of the church. About 40 years before he became emperor arose, the pest joined Arion heresy which denied that Christ was God. It ate its way through the, among the rulers, the church like a canker, and at one time it was all but dominant throughout Christendom. The few billion faithful man who witness for the truth cried out with air on terror at the apostasy that antichrist was calling. They called it the forerunner of antichrist and true his shadow King Julian was educated in the bosom of Arianism by some of its principle upholders and I, due time he fell away to paganism, became a hitter and persecuted the church and was cut off before he had rained out the brief period, which will be the real anti Christ duration. Close quote, Carnal Newman. So Julian rose up, turn the air here to see turned from that to paganism.
Speaker 0 06:36 Then to hatred and persecution. The church was cut off after a short rain for the next two weeks. We'll take a very brief look at each one of these points. The area inherency because of the time, we're not going to consider the theological aspects of here. Heresy in itself. The basic problem is that Ariens denied that Christ was God. In order to deal with these people in three 25 accounts and IC expanded apostles creed to make it clear what we really believe, the creed we're going to sing right after the sermon, this is the expense, all that stuff. Making sure that you can't get confused on who Christ or Lord is. That's why it's their creeds. Make it clear what we really believe. Words really matter. At any rate, the situation, the church and the society, it was a complete disaster. As a great doctor.
Speaker 0 07:29 The church St Jerome wrote shortly after Julian's death, the world, the whole world of woke and ground grown to find itself area. What was the moral atmosphere of society that was so drenched in Harrison, a former classmate actually went to school with them. A former classmate of Julian, the great bishop and doctor, the church saying basically great describes the situation, quote the doctrines of true religion overturned. There's complete immunity and sinning. Everyone walks according to his heart's desire. Vise knows no bounds to people knowing or no restraint. Men in authority are afraid to speak. All the while. Unbelievers laugh for what they see. Men of weak faith or shaken faith is uncertain. Souls are drenched in ignorance. Well, every blast, Miss Tongue wags free. The holy things are trodden under foot closed quotes. St Base of the Great Saint Drum gives details about the situation. In Rome. Quote, I cannot bring myself to speak of the many versions who daily fall.
Speaker 0 08:41 Some goes so far as to take potions that they may insure in Bareness and that's murder human beings almost before their conception. Some when they find themselves with child to their sin, use drugs to broke here, abortion, they drenched with wine to intoxication. When they go out, they do their best to attract notice and with nods and winks attract troops of young fellows to follow them. Close quote St Jerome, so in short, the society was overflowing with sin. Rebellion, vise, religious ignorance blasts me, heresy, sacrilege, drunkenness, promiscuity, sa, contraception and abortion. Okay. Now in the midst of all this, well, it's the general moral status of the clergy. Saint Jerome. Comments on the priests and I'll use euphemisms and I'll make it short quote, I blushed to speak of it. It is so shocking yet though sad, it is true. This plague of loose women running with the clergy.
Speaker 0 09:40 Close quote. How about the bishops? A renowned scholar, the church fathers notes quote at one point during the fourth century, perhaps the number of Catholic bishops in possession of seas, a position, a bishop in the possession, but see as the one who who's actually relieving the diocese. The number of Catholic bishops in possession of seas as opposed to area and bishops and possession of Cs was no greater than something between one and 3% of the total close quote, Father Jergens priest running with companions with loose morals and 97 to 99% of the bishops that are ruling diocese out and out heretics. Small wonder. Then in three 50 in the midst of this catastrophe, one are trillions contemporaries. The Great Bishop and Dr. Church, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem said quote, now is the apostasy for men have fallen away from the right faith. Now the church is filled with heretics and disguise for men have fallen away from the truth and have itching ears most of the part from right words and rather rather choose evil than desire.
Speaker 0 10:50 The good, this therefore is the apostasy and the enemy is soon to be looked for. Close quote Saint Cyril of Jerusalem. This therefore is the apostasy and the enemy is soon to be looked for. They didn't have to wait long. Julian the apostate in three 37 Julian's uncle Zan per Constantine die in order to eliminate any threats to his power. The new emperor, when a constant son and Julian's first cousin let him mass occur. Julian's family sparing only the six year old Julian and his eight year old brother. Then the emperor saw to it at the boys got a strict area in education. So Julianne not only grew up in a heretical area and surroundings, he grew up in a murderer's family to do with examples like that. It's not surprising that Julian was not particularly now hammered of Christianity according to Julian's own account. By the age of 20 you begin to live a double life publicly.
Speaker 0 11:57 He can indeed continue to act as if you're a Christian attending mass. He's a lecturer, so he'd sing the readings and so forth. What privately he was engaged in the most vile pagan rites and rituals. Well, he's still a student and leading this tell a life he went to Athens. The public reason why Julian went there was to study and amazing enough, he actually wound up as a classmate of two doctors of the church. We've already mentioned St Basally gray resolves a classmate of Saint Gregory Nancy, and there's also private reason. The private reason that Julian went to Athens is to secretly quite himself with various pagan priests and sourcers. Julian was filled with desire to master the black arts. One of the Pagans that Julian sought out for instruction told him of a source named Maximus only short time before it invited group his friends, including Julian's pagan instructor to the temple of <inaudible>.
Speaker 0 12:53 Now, if you don't know, this is the moon goddess, the goddess of the crossroads, the goddess, the underworld. She's the queen of black magic and patroness of witches and typically she's portrayed with a torture with torches. One Pagan Historian, contemporary historian, summarizes what happened at the temple. Quote maximus burned the cranium and sense recited to him, to himself. Then it happened. The statue of the goddess, her wrist began to smile and then seem to laugh out loud. Those present were alarmed with Maximus, tried to calm him by saying the torches, which the goddess held in her hands, which surgeon burst into flames and they actually did. When Julian heard about this, he said, farewell, keep your books. You've shown me my man. And when he said that, he set out for emphasis. Close quote. So an emphasis. Julian begins to study the black arts and her maximus, Saint Gregory, Nancy hands and describes the watershed in incident in Julian's initiation into the occult in order to be initiated into certain rights.
Speaker 0 13:58 Julian was led down into the ground and underground sanctuary. During this initiation, suddenly there's all these unearthly noises and terrible smells and then fiery apparitions. These demons begin to appear naturally. Julian was terrified. He fell back and as old habits, he made the sign of the cross. As soon as he made the sign across, he's terrifying. Operations disappeared. The sourcers starts this whole initiation process again. The same. Demons reappear and Julian gets so nervous that without even thinking about it, he makes a send it across again. Then they're gone. Then he begins to despair because the demons advantaged so whacked. The guy is, he wonders that the power of the cross, he asked the guy, well, what about this cross? The demons can't bear it and they flee. Every time I do that, the sourcer a liar response. Julian, you should not think anything of the sort that in fact those demons are not afraid of the cross at all.
Speaker 0 14:57 They want away because you've just made yourself abominable by making the sign of the cross and so he tricks to Lillian and initiates the poor man into these demonic mysteries. At the end of the initiation, his Saint Gregory Nan's hands and says Khloe quote, Julian reascend full of demon both in his mind and his actions from that day forward he was possessed. Call quote, Saint Gregory, Nancy, Hans and bishop and doctor the church. Non Spite of the fact that you can continue to go to mass in order to keep up the appearance of being a Christian. From this point on for the rest of his life, he's completely dedicated to paganism, whether he's off ramp, bloody sacrifices, consulting, oracles or reading entrails. He spent the remainder of his life following the guidance of demons. He regular experienced apparitions and visitations from pagan gods and goddesses and other specters, all of which were of course demons.
Speaker 0 15:56 In November of three 55 he's made the season of the west and then in three 61 after the death of his cousin, he becomes the emperor. His double life comes to an end when he suddenly throws off the mask, abandons Christianity, declares himself to be the pagan high priest, begins publicly offering sacrifice in the pagan temples and then invites his subjects to also adopt pagan worship persecution. Julian hated the church and intended to destroy it, but he took a very subtle approach approach that was very much in harmony with his previous lifestyle of publicly appearing to be one thing, devout Catholic or Christian Arion actually well privately, each actually something completely different. Dave Otay of black magic and paganism. Julie's first move is to address the leaders of the different Christian religious factions that included not only Catholics but also heretical sex, like the Ariens that donotist innovations and so forth.
Speaker 0 16:56 What does he tell him? A pagan associate records that Julian quote politely advised them to set aside their differences and with each without fear, opposition should observe his own beliefs. Close quote monies. Then remits, commutes, all the sentences of all the Catholics had been banished or imprisoned under his cousin. Next, he grants full religious liberty to everyone, so in a word, Julian promulgates laws which promote freedom of conscience, toleration, religious liberty. He brings back Catholics like Saint Athanasius who have been banished by the areas saw, sounds very reasonable and makes Julian look like a model ruler that's overflowing with goodwill and thoughtful, careful all his subjects, no matter what their beliefs. We might be wondering, how is this supposed to be a persecution? If Julian hated the church, why would he grant religious freedom and bring back the banished Catholics? What's up with that? Well, it's one of pit Julian's own.
Speaker 0 17:58 Peg and associates reported the real reason that Julian granted freedom of conscience to the church as well as to a different heretical Christian sex was so they get fighting with each other. It's the ancient Roman tack of divide and conquer. Contemporary authors recall a report that he would call us, the banish priests and bishops for exactly the same reason. His next step was to decree the Pagan temples be opened in the worship of the gods be restored, and soon the pagans who are emboldened by their new status start desecrating churches in cemeteries here and there and throughout the empire and attack and torture and kill priests and consecrated virgins. And now very, very important part of the subtle persecution becomes visible. He has a systematic pattern of selective law enforcement. The local governors are fully aware of the emperor's attitude, so they tolerated such crimes as long as they're committed by pagans.
Speaker 0 18:57 Went off to summarize the situation. Crow Christians and suffered abuse and violence from the hands of Pagans acting with a task and approval of the authorities at the most. The authorities intervened only to deplore an accomplished fact and not to punish it. At times they found pretexts to justify the peg and declare that they had acted with a reserve in a word. There was a disguise. Persecution guided by the hand and power or close quote. In fact, when one governor made the mistake of punishing someone responsible for killing Christians, Julian Pompey removed him from office, but when Christians retaliated for such attacks or attack paganism himself, it was a totally different issue. They're put to death come up may in the eyes, the state, the Christians were virtually always wrong. Julian decided in order to render them completely helpless, the Christian should also be deprived of their culture.
Speaker 0 19:52 He starts by issuing a constitution on education reform in the public schools and requires teachers to be both moral and competent in their fields. Obviously it sounds perfectly respectable, but at the same time, issues of public law. He also issues a private circular letter, which explains the real meaning of the public law. There's always two levels here. There's, there's what appears to be and what it really is. The letters entitled on Christian teachers and in a Julian specifically bans Christian teachers from participating in the schools. The result is one church historian points out is that a Christian teacher either headed, denies faith or give up his career and that's become a poverty stricken social derelict quote. Julian's aim wasn't, the Christians were to lose their social standing at the very most. They could be for a time grudgingly tolerated in unimportant posts. There was to be no bloody persecution for rather slow and inevitable paralysis.
Speaker 0 20:49 Close quote. He enact similar policies with regard to government posts and military service in every possible way. Julian acts policies to quote exclude Christians from the public life and replaced them with pagans. Close quote. The clergy were targeted. They were accused of stirring up civil unrest, which of course is a natural result of bringing the bishops that have banished than banished from their seats to come in where you have an area in bishop and a Catholic bishop in the same place to grant religious freedom to everything. There's going to be a civil unrest with the pagan attacks and whatnot and then the courage you are accused of fomenting this and Julian moves. The contemporary of Julian, a Christian author named so's been explained, although Julian was anxious to advanced paganism by every means, yet he teamed at the height of imprudence to employ force or vengeance.
Speaker 0 21:38 Besides there was so many Christians in every city, it would have been no easy task for the rulers. Even a number of them he did not even forbid them to assemble together for worship and steady expelled the clergy from all the cities St truly that there indeed there were none to teach or dispense the sacraments. Religion itself would in the course of time fall into oblivion. Close quote, another key. Amen. In this cultural war, it's true in every culture. War is the removal or destruction of visible Christian signs and symbols. For example, Suzman reports quote, having heard that says a rear flip pie as a celebrated statue of Christ which had been erected by a woman whom the Lord cured of a flow of blood. We just heard that Gospel a couple of weeks ago. It says rear flip. I, she, she record a statue there of Herb's grown in front of the work miracles and whatnot.
Speaker 0 22:26 Anyway, he hears about it. So chewing commands to be taken down and a statue himself wrecking its place. Close quote now before we close today, let's summarize Julian's strategy. He's using availed persecution, which public acts which seem fairly reasonable, such as appeals, tolerance of other originals and spoos religious liberty and the freedom of conscience are actually intended to be used to promote a pagan agenda. He's established a deliberate policy of selective law enforcement. Austin tended to promote the pagan agenda well harming Christians. He launches a carefully planned cultural are designed to crush Christian resistance and their visible presence in society using tactics such as de Christianizing, the schools de Christianizing, the civil service, the Christianizing, the military, as well as removing visible Christian signs and symbols and expelling clergy from the cities. And all this began in society, a wash and sin and moral degradation with the church suffering terribly from the wounds, a hair see from priests leading in more lives. And from heretical bishops, there's plenty more. The only problem in writing a sermon like this is to keep it short enough anyway, we can get the general picture. We'll finish the story next week. Let's close today with an observation from the author. So isn't, and that Christian contemporary of Julian quote, if Julian's shed less blood and proceeding persecutors the church, and if he does that devised fewer punishments for the torture of the body. Nonetheless, he was much worse in other respects, free inflicted evil upon the church in every way. Close quote.
