Rev. Fr. R. Gerald Culleton - The Reign of Antichrist

The Reign of Antichrist

R. Gerald Culleton

Copyright 1951 by Academy Duplicating Service, Fresno, California

Copyright 1974 by TAN Books

Cover image and design by Mike Dellinger.

TAN Books

Charlotte, North Carolina

www.TANBooks.com

2012

PUBLISHER'S PREFACE

Originally issued in 1951, the The Reign of Antichrist forms a companion volume to The Prophets and Our Times (1941) and is very much like the latter in scope and content. Two important differences in the books, however, should be noted: The Reign of Antichrist comprises Biblical prophecies as well as saintly prophecies; whereas, The Prophets and Our Times covers saintly prophecies almost entirely. Secondly, The Reign of Antichrist deals with a slightly different period of time, that, obviously of the individual Antichrist; The Prophets and Our Times deals with the period just before the reign of Antichrist, a period dominated by the Great Monarch. A careful reading of these two books will indicate that the time of the Great Monarch more or less prefigures that of Antichrist, although the two personages have generally reversed roles; that is, the times of both men are calamitous for the Catholic Church and for society. The Great Monarch's ascension to power ends the turmoil and initiates an unprecedented peace; on the other hand, Antichrist's coming to power ends the great peace and prosperity of the Great Monarch and heralds the most dreadful situation for both Church and society, which situation ends in the second coming of Our Lord.

The present work is by no means perfect, and all readers should recognize this before they start. Our purpose in reprinting it is twofold: It is a wonderful source book, one from which students of the subject can make an excellent beginning and from which, perhaps some really good student of eschatology, using other existing sources also, can give us a truly authoritative work on the subject. Secondly, there is practically nothing in print in this area that is even remotely reliable. History of Antichrist , by Rev. P. Huchede (1884) is a notable exception, being not only authoritative, but brief and highly readable. Our suggestion is that this book be read before The Reign of Antichrist , if possible, or at least shortly thereafter; it is an excellent outline of Catholic teaching relative to Antichrist. A first reading of Father Huchede's book should be followed by one where the reader looks up all the Biblical passages cited there. In this manner, the subject becomes extremely clear. Father Huchede bases his thesis upon Scripture, Tradition, and the Fathers and Doctors of the Church. Father Culleton, however, actually quotes the passages from scripture and the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, plus gives numerous sources of written tradition; added to these, moreover, he quotes many saints and holy people who possessed the gift of prophecy themselves. Having all these prophetic passages under one cover singularizes The Reign of Antichrist as a unique and valuable book in its field.

A word of warning needs to be interjected here. Saintly prophecies are not "of faith" (de fide pronouncements) and most of the Biblical prophecies regarding Antichrist have not been given official interpretation; consequently, we must observe precaution in interpreting them and in basing our actions upon them, especially until the Church has made judgment in their regard. Nonetheless, these prophecies, both Biblical and saintly, were given and intended for our enlightenment and should not be casually put aside. "Despise not prophecies," says St. Paul, "but prove all things." (1 Thes . 5:20-21). Also he tells us, "Follow after charity, be zealous for spiritual gifts; but rather that you may prophesy... He that prophesieth, speaketh to men unto edification, and exhortation, and comfort... He that prophesieth, edifieth the church... For greater is he that prophesieth, than he that speaketh with tongues." (1 Cor . 14:1,3,4,5). We would indeed be most foolish if we debunked the prophecies Father Culleton has gathered together here, for they form an impressive collection, probably the most thorough treatment on the subject in print. Perhaps it is even providential that the book is being reissued at this time, along with The Prophets and Our Times as well. Together, these two books tell quite a story about the future. And the great divergence of the sources of the prophecies cited is itself the most compelling argument for their validity.

Needless to say, the doctrine on Antichrist is very much a part of our Catholic theology and Tradition, and as such, must be considered carefully by all men, the learned and the unlearned alike, for the Antichrist, when he comes, will affect the lives of all men. Based upon the firmness of their faith and the correctness of their knowledge, men will either apostatize or remain faithful to Christ and His Church. Thus, it will be seen that a knowledge of the prophecies regarding Antichrist is of an immensely practical nature.

We have omitted from the book the secret messages of the La Salette apparition (1846approved by the Church in 1851), and the reader will find under Number 337 on page 163 a note to this effect. Pages 164 through 170 are missing entirely and only part of pages 163 and 171 appear. In the proper place we have explained why this was done. Other than that, a correction has been made concerning the "Secret of Fatima" on page 186. The wording of the original edition was not precisely what it should have been, and the author issued with each book a preface sheet containing also some corrections; this particular correction we have thought to include new in the body of the book, as well as two others of merely typographical nature. The balance of the author's loose-leaf enclosure has been added as the "Author's Preface."

Some readers no doubt will question Father Culleton's including Number 315, the prophecy of Michael Nostradamus (page 144) because Nostradamus was an astrologer, or at least a student of that subject. Presumably, this was due to Nostradamus' great overall accuracy as a prophet. Although Jewish by birth, he was a Catholic and apparently a very devout one. Moreover, he believed his prophetic foresight was so accurate that he scrambled his quatrains (the enigmatic, four-line verses in which he cast most of his prophecies), in order that people would not be too frightened of the future. Cultivation of the occult sciences is of course forbidden, but to what extent he relied upon astrology to make his predictions, if at all, I do not know. Nonetheless, his reputation for accuracy is great; however, in the particular predictions Father Culleton quotes here, he seems to have made several errors. But the same is true for the predictions of Father Theophilus Reisinger, O.F.M., Cap. (No. 369; page 222), the renowned exorcist of Earling, Iowa fame, popularized by the booklet Begone Satan .

This leads immediately into the question of errors in saintly prophecies. Does this obvious element of error vitiate the entire book. I do not believe it does, and for the following reasons: First, prophecies are about the future, and events, spiritually speaking, are greatly dependent upon the moral quality of human lives; when mankind improves his behavior, he can forestall or remove imminent catastrophe from happening. The prophet might be predicting in the sense of "if conditions do not change, then..." Second, a prophet may simply be misquoted. Third, he may be misinterpreted. And finally, the person in question may not in fact have the prophetic gift, as I believe is the case with Father Reisinger, whose forte or charisma was exorcism; the prediction given by him was through a second party, a mystic who received a locution.

Over all, however, the reader will see that most of Father Culleton's book contains passages that tend to support one another and which in general elucidate what Sacred Scripture has to say on Antichrist, and it is for this reason that we have reissued his book. May it bring enlightenment to its readers on this sorely abused subject, and may it inspire people today to turn to a serious spirituality in their lives, as the only valid bulwark to the onslaught of "the man of sin," a spirituality including prayer, penance, good works, spiritual reading, and frequenting the Sacraments, the formula laid down by the saints for spiritual perfection. This, after all, should be the end result of all our readinggrowth in holiness so that we may earn salvation through the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what it may be our fate to live through.