The Last Days of the Earth are Here!

parish transplant, excluded

The last days are here! Ever since Jesus died on the cross, we have been in the last days. Whether or not the last day of planet earth is imminent or not, nobody but God knows.  So while we don’t exactly know when it will happen, there are some signs of the times that we can look at to help us to discern if we are getting close or not. Let’s examine what the Bible says, and then what some saints have to say the last days.

The Bible

 Acts 2:15-17; Joel 2:28-32:”For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, that I will pour forth my spirit on all mankind . . .”

Here St. Peter talks about already being in the last days, some 2000 years ago.  The Holy Spirit is poured forth at each and every Mass, where He transforms ordinary bread and wine into the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 3: 1-5: But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,  inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it. Avoid such people.

St. Paul tells us here what people will be like in the last days. Anybody paying attention to what “entertainers” on late night TV say, to what  mega-rich Hollywood stars think about abortion and so-called “homosexual marriage,” and to what rich know-it-alls in the news media have to say about traditional values, will come to realize that Paul’s prophecy has indeed come true.

2 Peter 3: 1-10: “This is now the second letter that I have written to you, beloved, and in both of them I have aroused your sincere mind by way of reminder;  that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles.  First of all you must understand this, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own passions and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation.”  They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago, and an earth formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.  But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist have been stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.  But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up.”

The above verses from St. Peter definitely agree with what Paul said in 2 Timothy above. Additionally, he tells us that God is delaying the end as a sign of His great mercy, not wishing anyone to perish, but to come to repentance and Jesus Christ. He says that, just like Sodom and Gomorrah, the world will be destroyed by fire. Since those two cities were destroyed because of sexual perversion, it’s easy to understand how the world we live in today, saturated with sexual license everywhere, will be destroyed in exactly the same way.

1 Thessalonians 4: 15-17: “For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first;  then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord.”

John 6:40: “For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

The above two verses from St. Paul and St. John the Apostle let us know that on the last day, the dead will rise from their graves to meet the Lord in the air, and then we, the living, will be lifted up as well.  There will be NO secret rapture of the living like the book series “Left Behind” portrays, but a very public one with God’s trumpet blaring, on the very last day of planet earth.

Matthew 24:3-14: “As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?”  And Jesus answered them, “Take heed that no one leads you astray.  For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places:  all this is but the beginning of the sufferings.  “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.  And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another.  And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.  And because wickedness is multiplied, most men’s love will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come.”

Luke 21: 25-28: “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,  men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  And 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, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

The verses above from Matthew and Luke describe the signs of the times before the end. Lots of wars, famines, earthquakes, tsunamis, false prophets, and tribulation of the Church and church members are occurring today.  People are leaving the Catholic Church in record numbers, and for sure, with abortion, so-called “homosexual marriage,” pornography, and transgenderism being legalized, wickedness is surely multiplying, exponentially. Many people in the world hate Catholics because of our stance on sexual sins. Because of this, in the future, many of us will  probably suffer greatly.

The Sayings of Saints
St. John Paul II

“We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through. I do not think that wide circles of the American society or wide circles of the Christian community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel. This confrontation lies within the plans of divine Providence; it is trial which the whole Church, and the Polish Church in particular, must take up. It is a trial of not only our nation and the Church, but, in a sense, a test of 2,000 years of culture and Christian civilization with all of its consequences for human dignity, individual rights, human rights and the rights of nations.”

Here Saint John Paul the Great  lets us all know that the final battle between God and the devil for the soul of mankind has begun. The Church is ground zero for this conflict. With the recent shutting down of the Mass thanks to the Covid Virus, it appears that Satan has won a battle, but, in the end, he will lose the war. Like in World War II, there appears to be a blitzkrieg of evil overtaking the world today. But instead of an atom bomb ending this demonic all-out assault on the children of God, it will be won by the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, through recitation of her rosary.

St. Louis de Montfort

“But the power of Mary over all the devils will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lay his snares against her heel: that is to say, her humble slaves and her poor children, whom she will raise up to make war against him. They shall be little and poor and in the world’s esteem, and abased before all like the heel, trodden underfoot and persecuted as the heel is by the other members of the body. But in return for this they shall be rich in the grace of God, which Mary shall distribute to them abundantly. They shall be great and exalted before God in sanctity, superior to all other creatures by their lively zeal, and so well sustained with God’s assistance that, with the humility of their heel, in union with Mary, they shall crush the head of the devil and cause Jesus Christ to triumph.”

St. Maximillian Kolbe

“Modern times are dominated by Satan and will be more so in the future. The conflict with hell cannot be engaged by men, even the most clever. The lmmaculata alone has from God the promise of victory over Satan. However, assumed into heaven, the Mother of God now requires our cooperation. She seeks souls who will consecrate themselves entirely to her, who will become in her hands effective instruments for the defeat of Satan and the spreading of God’s kingdom upon earth.”

St. Louis de Montfort and St. Maximillian Kolbe, two of the greatest saints ever, tell us above that if we want to defeat the devil in his battle for our souls, we MUST embrace Mary, “The Woman” of Genesis 3:15, whose seed will crush the seed of the devil. God uses Mary to defeat the devil, because by being beaten by a lowly and humble human, it humiliates his pride more than being defeated by God almighty.

St. Faustina Kowalska

“Let all mankind recognize My unfathomable mercy. It is a sign for the end times;” (Diary, 848)

“Jesus looked at me and said: ‘Souls perish in spite of my bitter Passion. I am giving them the last hope of salvation: that is the Feast of my Mercy. If they do not adore my mercy, they will perish for all eternity. Secretary of my mercy, write, tell souls about this great mercy of mine, because the awful day, the day of my justice, is near.’ “ (Diary, 965)

Here Jesus tells us all that the day of justice is near, so we must embrace His Divine Mercy message now, while there is still time.

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24 thoughts on “The Last Days of the Earth are Here!”

  1. Thank you!
    In Medjugorje : “The Chris Curtis as well as Gianna Sullivan Talone are just two of the now hundreds of new ‘seers’ and ‘visionaries’ who have returned from a visit to Medjugorje and started having their own ‘visions’ and ‘locutions.’ It is an unprecedented phenomena”. I went to Lourdes, France (October 2022). I asked Mary for guidance at the grotto, went to the train station, and an 86-year-old priest sat next to me, spanish missionary (he spent years in Medjugorje), he answered all my questions about it… all positive; then he left because he just came to see me! Thank you Mary! I have 2 sites http://www.jctruths.com and http://www.marysrosary.com for more information and help. The seven sorrows rosary of Mary will lead you to the “Mystical City of God” books by Venerable Agreda (10+ popes approved its publication). Read those books!

    “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith
    God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and daughters shall prophesy”

    1. No doubt that we are in the final days. That’s why my fellow Catholics need to read the sections of the Bible that deal with the end time prophecies, i.e. Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Revelation, Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, several of Paul’s letters, etc.

    2. You like to mention abortions and homosexuality when you talk about sin because you can get people who hate these things to get fired up. Hebrews 10 tells us anyone who continues to sin willfully has lost their sacrifice and not even associate with these (brothers) .Brothers meaning Christian. Lying , false witness, revilers those who call people names, adultery as in even thinking about it sounds like maybe you should concentrate on the sins that are committed daily need to be taught do not fear making people mad because you talk about their sin Jesus didn’t fear calling them out nor did Paul. Time to get real. The verse is basically if you continues to willfully sin you lost your sacrifice. Don’t forget Paul puts gossiping in same punishment as murder. So if your telling people you think is true (politically) without a fact check your a gossip.

  2. John 14:6
    6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

    1 John 2:1-2
    1 My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. 2 He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.

  3. Ray,
    Forgot to include a follow-up to another of your statements.
    “Certainly Jesus crushed satan’s head at Golgotha, the place of the skull. But he did it because of Mary’s fiat.”
    Where in the Bible does it say that?
    Satan’s end doesn’t occur until after the Second Coming of Jesus when he is finally thrown into “the pool of burning sulphur”. At least that’s what my Catholic Bible says. Check out the Book of Revelation, Chapter 20.

    1. I think it means Mary put back on the tree the fruit of her womb reversing the curse of Eve..
      I could be wrong???
      have you read The Mystical city of God?
      I think we all play a part in the destruction of Satan as we all play a part in the salvation of souls through prayer and sacrifice.
      Christ in us

  4. Ray,
    Wondering about your latest comments to me. You start by referencing the Vulgate about semen vs. seed, then point out that Mary never had semen, and you follow up with the passage from Genesis about “her seed.” What are suggesting?

    Doesn’t Matthew 1: 24-25 and a few other passages in the Bible contradict CCC 510?

    With respect to John 19:27, are you suggesting that the passage can not be taken literally for what took place?

    Check out Rev. 12:17 again. It takes place on earth after the Devil is thrown out of heaven.

  5. Ray,
    Catholics pray to Mary, holy days of obligation, May crownings, many titles, etc.
    Fits the definition of “worship”.

    Seed can mean offspring.
    Mary did not crush Satan. Satan is still active in the world. His end comes later, as written in the Book of Revelation. A future event.

    Jesus entrusted the care of Mary to John at the foot of the cross. Not you and me.

    Rev. 12 is not about Mary, but the nation of Israel.
    Psalm 45 is not about Mary, but Jesus and his bride.

    1. In the Vulgate, it’s “semen”, not seed, and there was no semen in her, ever.

      “To Pray” means to ask, not to worship.

      Since Solomon, ALL Jewish Kings had their mothers as queen. Mary is the Mother of the King of Kings, therefore, she is the Queen Mother (Gebirah in Hebrew). Bathsheeba, the Queen Mother during Solomon’s reign, sat at his right hand on a throne.

      Certainly Jesus crushed satan’s head at Golgotha, the place of the skull. But he did it because of Mary’s fiat.

      Genesis 3:15 : “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed;”

      Enmity means a life long hatred, and the devil and Mary certainly have that between them.

      John 19:27 was addressed to the disciple whom Jesus Loved. I am such a disciple, as are you. The verse does not mention “John.” If your position is that the words of Jesus only apply to the people who were standing there at the time, then the sermon on the mount doesn’t apply to anybody else but those who were there at the time (“Jesus addressed the crowd…”)

      Psalm 45 is indeed about the bride of Jesus in heaven…Jesus is the bridegroom, and Mary, in heaven is his bride…as are all members of His church.

      Revelation 12:17 says that we are HER children if we obey the commandments and we testify that Jesus is the messiah, something the nation of Israel has NEVER done. And besides, the vision of Revelation 12 is in heaven, and the nation of Israel is down here on earth, not in heaven.

  6. Ray
    I must assume that as an engineer you are a critical thinker.
    Let me offer a question for your consideration.
    We are all sinners, thanks to Adam and Eve, in the eyes of God and in need of a savior, who is Christ, our Lord. Mary affirmed that in her canticle (Luke 1). Since we all have fallen short, including the popes, how can anyone usurp the role given to Jesus to judge the living and the dead?

  7. I believe that we are in “the early stages of the birth pangs” as described by Jesus in Matthew 24, as well as Mark 13.
    God also gave us the Book of Revelation.
    1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show his servants what must happen soon. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who gives witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ by reporting what he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud and blessed are those who listen to this prophetic message and heed what is written in it, for the appointed time is near.
    Nowhere in the Bible does it say that our hope is in Mary. Mary is not mentioned much in the Bible. Yet, our current pope just gave her three new titles.
    Our hope is in Jesus, the Son of God, who died for our sins. He is indeed coming back, as he promised his disciples in John 14.
    As I read more and more of the Bible, I am more perplexed by the Church’s adoration of Mary.
    Matthew 4:
    8 Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, 9 and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”10 At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written:

    ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship
    and him alone shall you serve.’”

    1. Catholics never have worshiped Mary. In the Bible, and in the Catholic Church, worship consists of offering produce of the earth to God, starting with Cain and Abel, Abraham to Melchezedek, all of the animal sacrifices to God in the Temple, to the gospels where Jesus offers up transformed bread and wine (now his body and blood) to the Father. Catholics have never done this with Mary, not one time.

      We honor her in the imitation of Christ, who was a faithful Jew who obeyed the Commandment to Honor His Father and His Mother.

      Genesis 3:15 says that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head. Since women do not have seeds, but eggs, that Woman has to be Mary, who crushed the serpent’s head at Golgotha, the place of the skull.

      Jesus gave his disciple (you and me and John) His mother from the cross, in his last will and testament. Revelation 12:17 agrees when it says that we are her children if we obey the commandments and acknowledge Jesus as our savior. So yes, we too honor Mary as our Mother. Jesus said that unless you become as a little child, you shall NOT enter the the Kingdom of heaven. All little children have one thing in common – they love their mother, which all Catholics do. God said in Luke that ALL GENERATIONS shall call her blessed, which agrees with Psalm 45, about her Coronation as Queen of heaven.

  8. Pingback: Is Jesus Back Yet? - Catholic Stand

  9. Yes, the earth has gone through ice cycles, in fact I recall reading that life was wiped out 6 times over millions of years. There’s also the likelihood of another asteroid like the one 65 million years ago which will end most mammals. You just have to look at the moon to see how many asteroids come by with time–LONG times.
    I don’t possibly know God’s thoughts, but why would He at the moment of His Big Bang, think to Himself, “Hmmm, I’ll make a note to myself, that in 13.7 billion years, I’ll send my Son down to the MiddleEast of an insignificant planet orbiting a dying star, to save humanity.” Why not come 5000 years sooner, so to save more people?
    With CO2 now rising over 415 ppm, we KNOW that the average earth temperature is going to rise 3 or 4 degrees in about 100 years, maybe THAT is your end of times for humans. Fossil fuels are doing us in.

  10. Thank you for the article. We should also pay attention to the apparitions of the Blessed Mother at Medjugorje on-going for the last almost forty years!
    While the Church has not yet authenticated the supernatural nature of the apparitions, the fulfillment of Our Lady’s promised secrets does not have to wait for Church approvals. So, please! Listen to the Blessed Mother. Be ready, spread the message and be at peace!!!

    1. I agree – Just as Jesus came into the world physically through Mary the first time, He will be coming into the world spiritually through her the second time. The 40th year anniversary of the Medjugorje apparitions are around the corner, and lots of things happened in the Bible after 40 years…

  11. Ray, I’m an old man at 89, and a Deist, as was Thomas Paine, a Founding Father.
    I’m also an engineer who has no use for predictions of the bible, the cosmos has been going for 13.7 billion years, and in all that time has never deviated from its expansion.
    What is more probable is that mankind is headed for global warming which will do in humanity with unbelievable heat and ocean rise and weather extremes, more weather events and much more serious. All caused by man, population = consumption = more CO2 and melting permafrost and thus more methane. I won’t be here to endure it, but my progeny and their progeny will. I encourage people to read The Uninhabitable Earth, by David Wallace Wells. It is a superb compilation of research publications, and 80 pages of reference notes.

    1. Thanks John. I disagree totally, being an engineer as well. The earth has always heated and cooled over the centuries. The ice age, 30,000 years ago, went away and the polar ice cap retreated from Nebraska up past Canada. That, I think, was a good thing.

      And there will be lots of global warming when God destroys the earth with fire, like He did to Sodom and Gomorrah.

      Peace – Ray

  12. Only Our Father knows the date of the end times, but if we examine “the signs of the times” it appears that we need to be ready. The Lord warns us to confess our sins and have “oil in the lamps.” We can agree that the slide down the slope has been accelerated by the unprecedented attack on the family as a stable social and religious institution.
    When I was in college there was a song written by Stephen Stills and performed by Buffalo Springfield. Its title was “Something is Happening Here.” Some of its lyrics definitely apply to our current crisis; yet our social and religious disorders are more profound than when that song was written. The walls of the Church and society have been breached. False shepherds and scurrilous social prophets abound. Yet, we have protection from “The Enemy.” Our Blessed Mother, and Our Lord Himself in His Eucharistic Presence, are our sword and shield. As St. Padre Pio said, “Pray, Hope, and Don’t Worry.” He presumed, however, that we have confessed our sins. We know the final battle has been won, but that doesn’t excuse us from not being prepared to meet any contingency.

    1. Right – Latching on to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is the one thing that will guarantee that we will always know the truth, and be protected from the wiles of the evil one and his minions here on earth…

  13. Too bad all these Scriptures and all of the sayings could apply to every age since the Lord’s Ascension.

    1. Yes, but one of these times,Jesus will return. We better be ready!! It is our job to get others to be ready!!!

  14. In regards to the “in the air” passage of 1 Thes 4:17:

    Paul delivers his first letter to the Thessalonian’s gentile community but his second letter is directed to the Jewish Christians there. In order for Paul to meet the gentiles where they currently “stood”, Paul needed to use imagery in which the gentiles were already familiar.

    The Thessalonian’s god, Dionysus, had an epithet – “Chthonios” – meaning subterranean, so Dionysus was their subterranean zeus or lord of the underworld. However, both Dionysus and Jesus had many things in common! To mention just a few – Dionysus was arrested for claiming divinity and for this was put on trial. Dionysus also had died and was reborn again…

    In 1 Thes 4:14, Paul uses this common ground to proclaim our resurrection, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”

    Similarly, in 2 Thes 2:6-7, the Jewish Christians in Thessalonica would have been familiar with mania and “seizures” (which restrain) associated with the local pagan god, Dionysus. Paul uses this imagery to illustrate satan’s temporary hold, “And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. But the one who restrains is to do so only for the present, until he is removed from the scene.” Again Paul find common ground.

    Likewise, it is Dionysus’ rule of the underworld which is Paul’s main concern when writing 1 Thes 4:17, “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with [past believers] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

    Paul is proclaiming the resurrection for believers – dead or alive or those yet to be born. However, it was a limited time offer – time is running out for becoming a believer.

  15. Jesus said:
    “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also and they will heed my voice. So there will be one flock and one Shepherd. ” Jn.10:16
    This is yet to happen. So I don’t subscribe to the view that end is nearby.

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