Chapter 28. Separation of the Good and the Evil; the Rebellion of the Antichrist at the End of the World
Chapter 28
1. Since, then, in this world some people come running to the light and unite themselves to God through faith, whereas others stay away from the light and separate themselves from God, the Word of God came to supply a suitable dwelling for all: for the ones in the light, that they might enjoy it and the good things that are in it; for the others in darkness, that they might partake of the calamities that are in it. That is why he said that those who are on his right will be called into his Father’s kingdom, while those who are on his left will be thrown into eternal fire; for they had deprived themselves of all good things.
2. For this reason the Apostle said: Because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false, so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. For he will come and of his own choice he will recapitulate the apostasy. He will work whatever he does work by his own free will and choice, and sit in the temple of God, so that those who are led astray by him would adore him as Christ, for which he will be justly thrown into the pool of fire. But God knows all things by his foresight, and at the proper time he would send him who was to be such to make them believe what is false, so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
John, in the Apocalypse, pointed out his coming in this manner: And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s feet, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed the beast with wonder. Men worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months; it opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is those who dwell in heaven. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and tongue and nation, and all who dwell in the earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain. If any man has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone slays with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
After that he said about the armor bearer, whom they call the false prophet: It spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It works great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of men. And it deceives those who dwell on earth.
Let no one think that he works those signs by divine power; no, he does so by magical power. And it is not surprising that he works signs through the demons and rebel spirits, since they serve him. By these signs he deceives the inhabitants of earth. He said, And it ordered an image to be made for the beast. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast should even speak, and to cause those who will not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also it causes to be marked on the right hand or on the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell, unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name and its number is six hundred and sixty-six, that is, six times one hundred and six times ten, and six times one. That is in view of the recapitulation of his entire rebellion which happened in six thousand years.
3. For as many days it took to make this world, so many thousands of years will it be in coming to an end. With this in mind the Scripture of Genesis says: The heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the sixth day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. This is both an account of things made previously, just as they had been made, and a prophecy about future things. For with the Lord a day is as a thousand years. But the things that were created were finished in six days. So it is evident that the year of their completion is the six thousandth.
4. For this reason, in every age, man, who in the beginning had been formed by God’s hands, namely, by the Son and the Spirit, is made after the image and likeness of God, when he has discarded the straw, which is apostasy, but has gathered the grain into the barn, which is those who make faith bear fruit for God. Hence, tribulation is necessary for those who are saved, that having been, in a sense, ground fine, and kneaded together with patience by the Word of God, and baked, they may be fit for the King’s banquet. As one of our own who was condemned to the beasts because of his testimony to God, said, “Christ’s wheat I am, and by the teeth of wild beasts I am to be ground that I may prove God’s pure bread.”