Apocalypse 9: The Scourge of Liberalism and the Angel of the Abyss
Bishop Williamson deciphers apocalyptic prophecies, linking them to modern societal decay, liberalism’s deceptions, and diabolical influences.
Bishop Williamson explains how modern society’s rejection of God leads to self-destruction, citing the Latin principle *’Ab esse ad posse valet illatio.‚* Liberal society, with its ’soft thoughts and lionish teeth,‚ masks destructiveness, and that the media’s ‚noise of wings’ clamors against truth.
His grace asserts that liberalism’s appealing principles hide a ’venenum in cauda’ (poison in the tail), and identifies the ’angel of the abyss’ as the Exterminator, the devil who mimics Christ and snatches souls from God.
The Principle of "Ab Esse Ad Posse"
What does that mean, ‚Ab esse ad posse valet illatio’? From being to being possible, the inference is valid. If something is a fact, you can reasonably argue that it’s a possibility. If it’s a possibility, you cannot argue it’s a fact, but if it is a fact, you can argue it’s a possibility.
Application to Modern Society's Rejection of God
It’s incredible that parents should be slaughtering their children when they really mean to love them, but it’s a fact that parents are doing so. This is because everybody is turning their back on God. For today’s society to be in good shape, God would either have to not exist or be unimportant. But if God exists and is important, and the mass of people turn their backs on Him, how can one expect things not to go crazy? Things are going crazy today because people have turned from God. Yet, when told to turn back to God, they seek any solution except that. People today are wicked.
The Duplicity of Liberal Society
‚Womanish hair and lionish teeth’ – that is exactly liberal society. Soft thoughts and horrible destructiveness go right together. You can see this in rock music: the soft thoughts of sensuality, and then the devouring, hatred, and destructiveness towards authority. It’s interesting to read rock lyrics, though not to listen to the music, because they reveal these things. Very sad.
The Need for Grace and Prayer
If anybody truly wanted to get out of that scene, could they? Yes, if they genuinely want to, they can, but it takes grace to desire to escape it. It is a question of grace. This is why those who have an inkling of God and some love for Him must pray for those in darkness, for the conversion of sinners, because poor sinners cannot pray for themselves. They do not know how. Therefore, we must pray for the conversion of sinners. So, soft thoughts, lionish teeth. We go on.
Breastplates of Iron and the Noise of Wings
‚They had breastplates, as breastplates of iron.’ Iron breastplates equal hearts hardened against the truth. This is absolutely the case today.
‚And the noise of their wings was as the noise of chariots and many horses running in battle.’ The noise of wings is the media: the endless clamor of newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and cinema. It is the endless clamor of this pseudo-lofty, pseudo-noble hatred of God; the noise they stir up. The noise of their wings, like the noise of chariots of many horses running into battle, is the din of this pseudo-lofty anti-church clamor, like charging tanks. It is the clashing, contradictory roar of the Church’s enemies. This recalls St. Ignatius’ meditation of the two standards, a swift portrait of the throne of Satan.
Scorpion Tails: Venenum in Cauda
‚And they had tails like a scorpion, and their stings were in their tails, and their power was to harm men for five months.’ The sting is in the tail: ‚venenum in cauda’ – the poison is in the tail. A scorpion approaches with its head, but the tail swings over from behind to sting. This represents beautiful principles disguising the persecution of the Church. Liberals approach with beautiful-sounding words like liberty, equality, fraternity, human rights, and democracy. But then the sting is in the tail. As these principles work out, you see the poison: the hatred of God, the wish for death. ‚Their stings were in their tails, and their power was to harm men for five months.’
The Angel of the Abyss: The Exterminator
‚And they had over them a king, the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin…’ The devil mimics Christ’s three languages on the cross. The inscription ’Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews’ was written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. Here, the devil is called by a name in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, mimicking the three languages that showed Christ’s universal sovereignty.
Mimicking Christ's Sovereignty and the Meaning of "Exterminator"
These languages represented the Roman visible empire (Romans as master politicians), the Greek intellectual empire (Greeks as master thinkers), and the Hebrew supernatural reign (Hebrews as masters of supernatural life by God’s gift).
And the name is Exterminator. Exterminator means the devil who is snatching men from their term (T-E-R-M), which is heaven – the destination where they are meant to finish, their terminus. The terminus is meant to be heaven. So, the Exterminator is the one who snatches them away from their term, from heaven. That is the devil. An exterminator snatches you away from the destination you are meant to reach.