Part III
THE UNIVERSAL REIGN OF JESUS CHRIST
CHAPTER XX
The words of St. Paul to the Thessalonians [1] prove clearly that Antichrist must be a definite individual, and our study of the Apocalypse shows that he has not yet made his appearance in the world. But practically all interpreters who accept these conclusions take the reign of Antichrist as a prelude to the last judgment and the end of the world. Then, contrary to the plain sense of Holy Scripture, they place the universal reign of Christ before the time of Antichrist. This, in turn, makes the chaining of the dragon a difficult problem. Some refer it to the time of our Saviour's death, or to the day of Pentecost. Others fix upon the date of Constantine's conversion, the reign of Charlemagne, the fall of the Western Empire, or the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, all purely arbitrary dates as their great divergencies prove.
A careful reading of the Apocalypse shows clearly that Antichrist will appear long centuries before the last judgment and the end of the world. In fact his reign will be but the final attempt of Satan to prevent the
- ↑ II Thessalonians ii, 8.
