Mighty Monarch and the Holy Pope

The tenth chapter of the Apocalypse comprises, according to Holzhauser, special revelations respecting the MIGHTY MONARCH and the ENLIGHTENED POPE, as we may reasonably assume, that God would not leave the world without some indication as to these great Renovators of an age apparently not very remote.

Revelations (Apocalypse) 10: 1-7 “And I saw, another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was on his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire.And he had in his hand a little book open; and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth; and he cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars… And the angel whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his hand, and swore by Him who created all things, that time shall be no longer; but that the mystery of God shall be finished, as He hath declared by His servants the prophets.”

[Holzhauser writes] “This is the lofty description of that MIGHTY MONARCH sent by God.He is a mighty angel, for no one can resist him, the envoy of God. He will come down from heaven; that is to say, he will be born in the bosom of the Catholic church.The cloud with which he is clothed signifies humility, with which, from youth upward, and without any great parade, he walks in the simplicity of his heart.The protection of God is also thereby indicated, that, on account of his humility, will encompass him.The rainbow about his head denotes, that he will bring peace to the whole earth.The solar luster of his brow signifies the splendor of his glory, his honor, his holiness, his talents, so that all princes will follow (Beykirch, p. 141) his example. The fiery pillars symbolize the vast extent of his power, and the fire of his religious zeal…

“The spread of the church over all countries will take place by the instrumentality of this STRONG MONARCH, and before the destruction of the world, Christianity will be preached to all nations of the earth; as this is foretold in Matthew 24:4; in Isaiah 2:2; and in Micheas (Micah) 4:2. To this wide diffusion of Christianity allusion is made, when John is obliged to measure the temple of God.(Apocalypse 11:1).

“And John saw one sitting upon a cloud, a son of man, with a golden crown upon his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.(Apocalypse 14: 14)

[Holzhauser writes] This is the second vision respecting the MIGHTY MONARCH; the crown is that of the holy Roman empire; the sickle in his hand, his unconquerable army, with which, without sustaining a defeat, he will vanquish all the enemies of God and His church.

“And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat upon the cloud, ‘Thrust in thy sickle, and reap, because the hour is come to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ (Apocalypse 14: 15).

[Holzhauser explains] “This angel of the Lord is that GREAT AND HOLY POPE, who, moved by God, will cry out of the sanctuary of the church to that MIGHTY MONARCH, to root out the tares of wickedness, for the harvest is over-ripe; the measure of sins and abominations is overflowing. Instructed by a divine revelation, the HOLY POPE will, by communicating the same, stir up the hearts of princes to a common war; and God will touch the hearts of the soldiers, that, animated with one spirit, they all will adhere to the MIGHTY MONARCH.” (Beykirch, pp. 30 – 32).

These two images of a very saintly and DIVINELY ENLIGHTENED POPE, and of a very GODLY AND PUISSANT EMPEROR, form prominent objects in the prophetic visions of divers holy seers, to whom the Almighty hath been pleased to reveal the future destinies of His church. In one of his visions, which we passed over, Holzhauser saw two mighty thrones, whereon sat respectively the supreme representatives of the spiritual and temporal power, and which overshadowed the whole earth; thus realizing, on a more gigantic scale, the medieval theory of the papal umpirage and imperial advocacy. In this commentary on the Apocalypse, as we have seen, this idea is more fully developed. It is strikingly corroborated in passages from other authorities, which we are now about to cite. The following prophecy by a Brother John, who flourished about the year 1340, was copied from an old book at Leipzick, in the year 1498, by Maternus Hatten of Spires: (Beykirch, p. 142).

[Brother John foretells] “The tyrants and the hostile people will arise, and unexpectedly assail the prelates and the ministers of the Church, and rob them of all their temporal goods, their countships, their duchies, their territories, their cities, and revenues, and take possession of all their estates, and will ill-treat them, and afflict them in divers ways; and the clergy will not be able to withstand this treatment.

“Then will all ministers of the church, of whatever rank they may be, be forced under penalties and scourges to return to an apostolic life. The Pope will change his seat, and will, with his disciples, consume the bread of grief in tears. Whatever the church hath before suffered, will be exceeded by the coming afflictions. Fearful phenomena will be exceeded by the coming afflictions. Fearful phenomena will be seen in the heavens; the earth will quake; the sea roar, and lift up its waves against the land. The air will become corrupt, and its natural breath be changed and perverted by pestilential diseases, because of the wickedness and abomination of men. Quickly will many, very many die. A famine will visit the west especially. Never will so many and such dread afflictions be heard of. The pomp of the great will disappear; the sciences and arts will fall into decay; and for a time all priests will remain in a state of humiliation.

“Yet, after so many afflictions, will a POPE be chosen, whom the will of God names, and the angels will crown this pious and perfect man. He by his HOLINESS, will remodel the world, and bring back all churchmen to the true way of living characteristic of Christ’s disciples, and they will be esteemed by all because of their virtue and holiness. This ENLIGHTENED POPE will preach barefoot, and fear no power of princes; he will bring all erring sheep back, and especially convert the Jews; and there will be but one law, one faith, one baptism, one life. All men will love each other, and peace will endure for long years.” (Beykirch, pp.72 –74).

This Brother John predicts, also, very many particulars respecting the Reformation [Protestant] and the [French] Revolution, which literally came to pass. He and many others agree in foretelling, that from the year 1490 to 1525, and from 1786 – 1800, events would occur which would have frightful wars, insurrections, and conspiracies, for their immediate consequence; but whose greatest and most calamitous results would only later become manifest.

In striking coincidence with these predictions respecting the “HOLY POPE and the POWERFUL MONARCH,” we may cite a passage from the prophecies of the celebrated Father Ricci, general of the Jesuits, who died in 1773, in the odor of sanctity.

[Father Ricci predicted] “That valiant duke [MONARCH] will exercise a fatal vengeance on (Beykirch, p. 143) all kings and princes who have betrayed their country. Woe to those who have made a prey of the kingdom of their forefathers, as well as of the Church. They must pay everything back with double interest. No safety will be in the house of those thieves. Inevitable punishment will pursue them; for that very POWERFUL duke [MONARCH] hath sworn on oath before the face of the Lord, not to sheathe his sword till he hath avenged his country a hundred-fold. The great Babylon [Rome?] will fall. Protestantism will be extirpated, and the Turkish empire [Islam] will perish and that GREAT duke [MONARCH] will be the mightiest monarch on the whole earth. [Ricci foretells that he will spring of an old and illustrious German dynasty.] His sceptre will be that of Manasses; he will, in an assembly of men distinguished in the Church for their piety and wisdom, and with the aid of the HOLY POPE, introduce new laws and ordinances, and allay the spirit of anarchy, and restore our society, and call together its members from the most distant parts, in order to commence and educate a new age. Then will there be everywhere one flock and one shepherd, who will vouchsafe to the whole world and to all men of good-will, peace in the worship of the Lord our God.” (Beykirch, pp. 70 – 71)

In exact conformity with the above prediction, is the following passage extracted from an old book entitled,“Life of Anti-christ, or a full detailed description of the future things of the world,” by Dionysius von Lützelburg, Capuchin. Frankfort, 1686. [Leben des Antichrist’s oder gründliche, aus führliche Beschreibung von den zukünftigen Dingen der Welt, etc. Von Dionysius von Lützelburg, Kapuciner. Frankfort, 1686.] The author thus prophesies of the Church:

[Dionysius Von Lützelburg said] “If the goodness of God hath ever stood by the Church in the moments of her deepest affliction; if He hath ever rescued her out of all her distresses; wherefore should He now leave her in such great misery until the end of the world?… Before the coming of Antichrist, He will bring His dear bride, the Church, out of all crosses and afflictions. He will stir up in her bosom a CHRISTIAN POTENTATE [MONARCH] perform marvelous deeds throughout dear Christendom. For He will impart to this prince such strength and power that not only by his authority will he bring back all erring souls to the true sheep fold, but by the force of his arms he will strike down the Turk, take from him Hungary, Greece, together with the imperial city, Constantinople, and reincorporate it with dear Christendom.” (Beykirch, p. 72).

But this glorious state of things will not always endure. (Beykirch, p. 144) The SEVENTH and last period of the Church—the status desolationis, “state of desolation” dates from the birth of Anti-Christ, and lasts till the end of the world. In this age the apostasy from the faith will be general, and then will time come unto its end. To this period corresponds the seventh day of creation, when God now close the work of spiritual creation, and repose in eternity with His saints and His elect. The evils of this age will be Luke warmness in faith—coldness of love—perturbation of public order—folly on the part of pastors and rulers, who will be like unto autumnal trees without fruits—wandering stars—and rainless clouds. This state of things is denoted by the name of the seventh community, Laodicea, which signifies the spitting out; for Christ the Lord will spit out His lukewarm Christendom, and deliver it over to the son of perdition. (Apoc. VIII, 14 – 23) (Beykirch, p. 33).