The Coming Dominion of the Church
A Mustard Tree
IN Evil, Too, Has a Name, I wrote that the goal of Satan is to collapse civilization into his hands, into a structure and system rightly called "a beast." This is what St. John the Evangelist described in a vision he received where this beast causes "all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave" to be forced into a system whereby they cannot buy or sell anything without a "mark" (Rev 13:16-17). The prophet Daniel also saw a vision of this beast similar to St. John’s (Dan 7:-8) and interpreted a dream of King Nebuchadnezzar in which this beast was seen as a statue made up of different materials, symbolic of different kings who form alliances. The context for all of these dreams and visions, while having dimensions of fulfillment in the prophet’s own time, is also for the future:
Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end. (Dan 8:17)
A time when, after the beast is destroyed, God will establish His spiritual Kingdom to the ends of the earth.
go from creating such glorious structures, stained glass windows, and sacred art… to abandoning and closing our churches, destroying our statues and crucifixes, and extinguishing much of the mystery of God in our prayer and liturgy? The answer came silently as I could see with the eyes of my soul how this beauty, while at once inspiring saints, also corrupted men who bent the awe and power of our Catholic heritage to their own advantage. I understood at once that the Catholic Church, despite her holiness and providential role in the plan of salvation, has experienced in her long history the rise and fall of many Judases. They have welcomed her Joan of Arcs, and also burned them at the stake.
