Saturday, July 23, 2022

E. Sylvester Berry (Catholic Theologian): Revelation 12 and the Establishment of a Counterfeit Church

  

Christ is here [Matt 24:24] warning the faithful against the prodigies of that the agents of Satan will produce in the days of Antichrist, to deceive them if possible. Such prodigies are not miracles, but as St. Paul says, "signs and lying wonders." This very warning on the part of Our Lord presupposes the power of miracles in the Church, for otherwise there would be no reason for Satan to attempt such counterfeits. There can be no counterfeit coins where there are no genuine coins to counterfeit. The prophecies of the Apocalypse show that Satan will imitate the Church of Christ to deceive mankind; he will set up a church of Satan in opposition to the Church of Christ. Antichrist will assume the rĂ´le of Messias; his prophet will act the part of Pope, and there will be imitations of the Sacraments of the Church. There will also be lying wonders in imitation of the miracles wrought in the Church. (E. Sylvester Berry, The Church of Christ: An Apologetic and Dogmatic Treatise [St. Louis, Miss.: B. Herder Book Co., 1927], 119; one can find the scanned image of the page here; cf. his commentary on Revelation 12)