Rev. Fr. Alfred McBride explains the Catholic understanding of the Antichrist.
This is an excerpt from lecture 6 of the TAN Course: Unveiling the Apocolypse: The End Times According to the Bible.
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End-times hysteria peaked during the late 1990's as the millennium drew near. It has resurfaced in more recent years because of evangelical prophecies and an end-times fever.
Does the Book of Revelation disclose the date of the end of the world? When will the seven years of tribulation happen? Are we actually living in the end times?
The Book of Revelation is probably the most frightening and most perplexing book of the New Testament. Full of signs and symbols, predictions and warnings, it speaks of extraordinary times marked by falling stars, a blood covered moon, the collapse of empires, and widespread havoc. Such hyper-dramatic language characterizes all apocalyptic literature.
Fr. Alfred McBride, O. Praem. sets the record straight with an authentic Catholic interpretation of the Book of Revelation. He gives you three keys to understanding the Book of Revelation and offers sustaining hope for Christians who have or who will experience the trials and persecutions that have always accompanied members of the Church.
In addition to discussing the end of the world, Fr. McBride presents authentic Catholic teaching on topics including the Rapture, the "mark of the beast," the Antichrist, the thousand years of peace and more in this course, Unveiling the Apocalypse.
Lectures
1. Three Keys for Understanding the Book of Revelation
--Father McBride discusses apocalyptic language, the role of prophets, and interpreting the Book of Revelation on three levels of time and history.
2. Letters and Warnings to the Seven Churches
--The Letters all contain common elements: Jesus 'knows' the situation, he commends righteousness and condemns wickedness, and he calls for repentance or perseverance.
3. A Vision of Heaven and the Seven Seals
--St. John was privileged to behold the revelation of the Lamb who opens the Seven Seals and unleashes the Four Horsemen.
4. Trials and Tribulations
--144,000 are sealed by the angel of God; the Seven Trumpets sound terror and catastrophe; and the abyss of Hell opens.
5. A Woman Clothed with the Sun
--A great sign appears in the sky: a woman clothed with the sun, crowned with twelve stars, and the moon under her feet.
6. The Antichrist
--St. John says that the Antichrist, who appears as a dragon, a leviathan, and a behemoth, will become a divinized tyrant with awesome powers and its own earthly throne.
7. Christ’s Thousand Year Reign
--The expression 'a thousand years' appears six times in Revelation 20:1-7 and its meaning has been debated since the Early Church.
8. A New Heaven and a New Earth
--In the Book of Revelation, we witness the wedding feast of the Lamb, risen and victorious, praised in the throne room of Heaven.
Rev. Fr. McBride was listed as a most influential educator in the database of Christian Educators of the 20th Century. He was appointed the Ecclesiastical Assistant for the United States in 1989, served as consultant to the Archdiocese of Boston for the implementation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and was a Professor of Homiletics and Catechetics at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts. In 1992, Fr. McBride became the Spiritual Director for the U.S. branch of the World Wide Mission called the "Aid to the Church in Need". In 2003, Fr. McBride celebrated his Golden Jubilee as a priest and decided to return home to De Pere and rejoin his confreres. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by both St. Norbert College in De Pere and Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, NC. He lectured and wrote widely, publishing 68 books and about 200 articles. Fr. McBride passed away in 2020. He was a humble man, always thankful to God for his remarkable gift of writing.
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