#8—The Binding of Satan, the Catholic Epoch, and the Loosing of Satan at the End of the World, Part 2
Gustave Dore, Lucifer Cast from Heaven
In Part 1 of #7—The Binding of Satan, the Catholic Epoch, and the Loosing of Satan at the End of the World, we laid out the grand outline of history contained in Apocalypse 20. We showed that the history of the Church, the katechōn, began with Christ’s ascension into heaven, after which He established thrones upon which the Apostles and their successors would judge the twelve tribes of Israel. (Matt. 19:28-30) From that moment until His return, all His enemies are being put under His feet, the last of which is death. (1 Cor. 15:20-27) This kingdom is the restrainer spoken of by St. Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2. Prior to the setting up of this Messianic Kingdom, Satan is bound by Our Lord’s Passion, which initiates the Catholic Epoch. At the end of this epoch, Satan is once again loosed and goes about his final persecution of the Church prior to Christ’s return. Thus, the “binding” and “loosing” of Satan represent the bookends of the Catholic Epoch.
In Part 2, we will explore these bookends of the binding and loosing of Satan through a broader survey of examples from Scripture that, as we said in Part 1, “mysteriously and surprisingly work” in support of this theory.
First, we begin with the book of Daniel. Perhaps more than any other Old Testament book, this book provides a stunning amount of historical detail in its prophecies about the Messiah and His Kingdom. While we will examine all of them in future posts, for now, we focus on the “bookends.”
In the second chapter, Daniel interprets a dream of King Nebuchadnezzar of a great statue composed of various materials, each representing succeeding empires. The fourth kingdom is broadly recognized among the Fathers to represent the Roman Empire. In the days of that empire, the Prophet Daniel declares that God will establish His own kingdom (Dan. 2:44-45):
44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand for ever; 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.” [Emphasis added]
This fifth kingdom is the Messianic Kingdom, or the Catholic Church, which we must never forget exists currently not only on earth (the Church Militant), but in Purgatory (the Church Suffering) and in Heaven (the Church Triumphant). This is how even during the Catholic Epoch, Saints not only resist the beast and his mark, but reign with Christ (as Saints in Heaven) for doing so. (Apoc. 20:4-6). Note that this kingdom “shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people.” (Dan. 2:44) The Catholic Church shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty pass to another. There are no “branches” from this Church. There are no “denominations” that legitimately depart from Her. She is the one and only Church established by God, the fifth kingdom of Daniel’s prophecy. It is this authority and sovereignty—exercised by both the spiritual (priesthood) and temporal swords (rulers)—that restrains the mystery of iniquity through the power of Christ’s cross, which binds Satan.
The twelfth chapter of the book of Daniel, which specifically focuses on “the end times,” provides a fascinating detail that would seem to align with the other bookend of the katechōn, the loosing of Satan (Dan. 12:5-7):
5 Then I Daniel looked, and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream. 6 And I said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, “How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” 7 The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven; and I heard him swear by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, two times, and half a time; and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be accomplished. [Emphasis added]
Thus, all the apocalyptic prophecies of the end times will be accomplished “when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end.” (v. 7) Note, this is not the authority of the “holy people” (the Church), nor its sovereignty, but its power alone. This once again aligns with not only the plain words of Apocalypse 20, but our theory that the end of the world will witness the Passion of the Church in a manner that typologically fulfills the Passion of Our Lord. He too lost none of His authority or sovereignty, even when He was being crucified. The same will be true of the Church. The destruction of this power is an essential part of the Great Apostasy.
Likewise, in 2 Thessalonians 2 itself, we see two bookends that coincide with the binding and loosing of Satan (2 Thess. 2:6-8):
6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by his appearing and his coming. [Emphasis added]
Next, we proceed to the Gospels, where we find the same bookends typologically hidden in Christ’s parables. For example, in St. Matthew’s Gospel, when the Pharisees challenge Jesus on His exorcism of demons, He responds as follows (Matt. 12:28-29):
28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. [Emphasis added]
The same story is also in St. Mark’s Gospel (Mark 3:23-27):
23 And he called them to him, and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man; then indeed he may plunder his house. [Emphasis added]
The same story is also recounted in St. Luke’s Gospel (Luke 11:20-23):
20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace; 22 but when one stronger than he assails him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoil. 23 He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. [Emphasis added]
Note that Christ uses the same language of “binding” as is used in Apocalypse 20, and both applied to the demonic. This is not a coincidence. As Christ Himself says, this is a sign that “the kingdom of God has come upon you,” which kingdom was finally established upon His ascension into Heaven. As St. Paul observed in his epistle to the Colossians (Col. 2:14-15):
14 [H]aving canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in him. [Emphasis added]
These “principalities and powers” are the demonic, whose legal claim to fallen human nature was finally broken by the Passion and Resurrection of the New Adam.
But Our Lord also seems to allude to the loosing of Satan. For example, in St. Matthew’s Gospel, He says the following (Matt. 12:43-45):
43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, but he finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and brings with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. So shall it be also with this evil generation.” [Emphasis added]
The same story is recounted in St. Luke’s Gospel (Luke 11:24-26):
24 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest; and finding none he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when he comes he finds it swept and put in order. 26 Then he goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.” [Emphasis added]
Our Lord indicates that after a demon is exorcised, he may return with a vengeance. A similar pattern and language is used in various epistles to describe apostasy. For example, the book of Hebrews says the following (Heb. 6:4-8):
4 For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they then commit apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt. 7 For land which has drunk the rain that often falls upon it, and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed; its end is to be burned. [Emphasis added]
Likewise, St. Peter uses the very same wording of Christ’s parable of the strong man, and applies it to apostasy (2 Pet. 2:20-22):
20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “The dog turns back to his own vomit, and the sow is washed only to wallow in the mire.” [Emphasis added]
Thus, apostasy is analogized by the Apostles with the expulsion (via baptism) and return of a demon (via apostasy). We believe this pattern applies analogically to Christian civilization and the Great Apostasy.
As a preview of future posts, and as an illustration of this pattern of apostasy, we include this example from the fourth century: the initiation of the Roman Emperor, Julian the Apostate (so-called because of his attempt to revive paganism), into the pagan mysteries (i.e. demon worship). This account comes from Theodoret’s Ecclesiastical History, which he wrote around AD 455 (Book 3, Ch. 1):
In his earlier days, while yet a lad, Julian had, as well as Gallus his brother, imbibed pure and pious teaching.
In his youth and earlier manhood he continued to take in the same doctrine. Constantius, dreading lest his kinsfolk should aspire to imperial power, slew them; and Julian, through fear of his cousin, was enrolled in the order of Readers, and used to read aloud the sacred books to the people in the assemblies of the church.
He also built a martyr’s shrine; but the martyrs, when they beheld his apostasy, refused to accept the offering; for in consequence of the foundations being, like their founder’s mind, unstable, the edifice fell down before it was consecrated. Such were the boyhood and youth of Julian.
At the period, however, when Constantius was setting out for the West, drawn there by the war against Magnentius, he made Gallus, who was gifted with piety which he retained to the end, Caesar of the East.
Now Julian flung away the apprehensions which had previously stood him in good stead, and, moved by unrighteous confidence, set his heart on seizing the scepter of empire.
Accordingly, on his way through Greece, he sought out seers and soothsayers, with a desire of learning if he should get what his soul longed for. He met with a man who promised to predict these things, conducted him into one of the idol temples, introduced him within the shrine, and called upon the demons of deceit. On their appearing in their wonted aspect terror compelled Julian to make the sign of the cross upon his brow. They no sooner saw the sign of the Lord’s victory than they were reminded of their own rout, and immediately fled away. On the magician becoming acquainted with the cause of their flight he blamed him; but Julian confessed his terror, and said that he wondered at the power of the cross, for that the demons could not endure to see its sign and ran away. “Think not anything of the sort, good sir,” said the magician, “they were not afraid as you make out, but they went away because they abominated what you did.” So he tricked the wretched man, initiated him in the mysteries, and filled him with their abominations. [Emphasis added]
An account of the same event is also found in Sozomen’s Ecclesiastical History (Book 5, Ch. 2), which was authored around the same time.
We draw three conclusion from this account.
First, it confirms the words of Christ Himself, and the truth of our theory, that His cross bound Satan and his demons. The Church Fathers often report similar accounts of interactions with demons, their physical manifestations, their performing of false miracles, and their fleeing before the sign of the cross. This is what Christendom coming into the world entailed—the Christian Mysteries (sacraments), indeed Christian civilization, defeated, expelled, and “restrained” (katechōn) the pagan mysteries and the pagan civilization which dominated the world before the Incarnation, even during periods of great persecution. Indeed, the fact that the Gospel continued to spread despite so much resistance is a testament to this reality. We will cover many examples of this in future posts.
Second, the fact that demons continue to exist and operate in the world, even after the Incarnation and the cross, is an example of the “mystery of iniquity” St. Paul refers to (2 Thess. 2:7). Even during the Catholic Epoch—after Christ has established thrones for the Apostles and their successors, and the Saints reign with Christ in Heaven (as described in Apoc. 20:4-6)—the temptation to worship “the beast” and “its image” (v. 4) remains. St. John describes this beast as “was and is not and is to come” (Apoc. 17:8), which we believe to be the demon worship of paganism (“was”), its defeat by Christianity (“is not”), and a revived neo-paganism (“is to come”). Indeed, Scripture speaks similarly of Antichrist. While there is a singular and individual Antichrist who will appear prior to Christ’s return, there are, nonetheless, miniature antichrists throughout history (1 John 2:18, 22): “as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come…Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?” This is why St. Paul calls this lurking series of antichrists during the Catholic Epoch the mystery of iniquity, implying hidden (the meaning of the word occult). The word he uses is mystērion, which is often found throughout Scripture in reference to what Christ has revealed to the Apostles, and from them to the world. “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” (Matt. 13:35) In various places, it is used to describe Christ Himself, the Church, the Gospel, the power of the cross, the sacraments, etc. Thus, while we cannot necessarily infer that the mystery of iniquity represents a comprehensive counter-system based merely on this one word, we will demonstrate in future posts that this mystery of iniquity is equivalent to Satan’s body, and oftentimes more specifically what we will call the Anti-Church—the part of Satan’s body that hides itself within the visible Body of Christ (the Church)—for which there is abundant evidence throughout Scripture, the Fathers, and history.
Third and finally, this account about Julian the Apostate illustrates an historical reality we will cover in much greater detail in future posts, namely that of the “elites” of this world consorting with demons for the purpose of persecuting the Church. The Fathers frequently narrate the destruction of paganism and its “mystery schools.” It is simply a fact that various occult societies in the world today, many of which rose to prominence in the eighteenth century, see themselves as the heirs of these mysteries, and have openly declared their intention to restore them, as so many Popes have warned. Once again, we believe this is the beast that “was and is not and is to come…” (Apoc. 17:8), which will be epitomized by Antichrist at the end of the world. What will make the restoration of paganism worse than its prototype is that, while ancient paganism was ignorant of Christ, this revived paganism shall spring from a society that once knew Him, and rejected Him. Such rejection, as we have seen above, is frequently described in Scripture as a man returning to something worse than his former state.
Such will be the case upon Satan’s release, which will bring the Catholic Epoch to an end, followed by the appearance of Antichrist reigning over an anti-Christendom prior to Christ’s return.