The following quotes I have taken from Josef Pieper one of the foremost Thomist Scholars of the 20th Century and from his excellent book The End of Time: A Meditation on the Philosophy of History
"What then in detail, does the notion "Dominion of the Antichrist" imply?
It has already been mentioned that the more a philosophic inquiry relates to history, the more the inquirer needs to turn to theology. In addition, the more closely a concept of theology is related to the Last Things, to the realisation of the meaning of history, to the End, the more the totality of theological concepts comes into play. With respect to our theme, this means that a correct interpretation of the concept "Dominion of the Antichrist" presupposes that all the basic concepts of theology, or rather all the fundamental realities of the history of salvation, are correctly understood." (from page 121)
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"The Christian notion "Dominion of the Antichrist" is, moreover, not intelligible if it is not simultaneously conceived that original sin has been vanguished by the Logos become man, who eo ipso is also simultaneously the vanguisher of the Antichrist. We understand nothing about the Antichrist if we do not see him, despite all his power within history, as one who is fundamentally already defeated." (from page 124)
....
"The World State of the Antichrist will be in the extreme sense a totalitarian State. This is determined, however, not only by the lust for power and the suberbia of the Antichrist, but at the same time by the nature of the World State itself. To become overnight a totalitarian State - that is the inner peril, arising directly out of its very structure, that threatens a World Empire, which, per definitionem, is devoid of neighbours and thereby unexpectedly conforms to the political islands of the Utopias. Thus the liberal Gibbon said of the Imperium Romanum that within it freedom could have been torn up by the roots "because there was no possibility of flight"; "if dominion fell into the hands of one individual, that the world became a safe prison for his adversaries." To this a diary of the last war* adds the conclusion that the objection can be raised to the "unitary organisation of the world", which is certainly imminent, "from the standpoint of liberty, that it will leave no place to which one might emigrate". The Kantian ideal of the abolition of truly 'external' wars, which would be attained in a World State, has its reverse side: the place of external wars would be taken by internal 'police actions', the character of which would approximate very closely to the extermination of pests." (from page 130)
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* G. Nebel, Bei den nordlichen Hesperiden (Wuppertal, 1948), 258
....
"Futhermore, tradition also sought also sought to discern an objective feature of the antichrist's resemblence to Christ in the fact that he will be a Jew; the Talmud itself sees him as a Jew. Thomas Aquinas likewise repeated this opinion (dicunt quidam...): "....and therefore the Jews will be the first to receive him and they will rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, and so the words of the prophet Daniel will be fulfilled, "There will be in the Temple abomination* and an idol.**"
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* The fact has been remarked upon that in the Greek of Saint Mark's Gospel the word "abomination", quoted from Daniel (9:27 ; 12:11), which is neuter, is used, contrary to every gramatical rule, as masculine and thus gives the idea of a male person.
** Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, chapter 2, lect. I
Just a few quotes from the third chapter of Pieper's book. The footnotes which I have used * and ** to indicate are Pieper's also.
I cannot say I can answer every question about this topic and I cannot quote longer passages I on a website (I hope these are ok), but am happy to hear thoughtful, prayerful comments on the above?
"What then in detail, does the notion "Dominion of the Antichrist" imply?
It has already been mentioned that the more a philosophic inquiry relates to history, the more the inquirer needs to turn to theology. In addition, the more closely a concept of theology is related to the Last Things, to the realisation of the meaning of history, to the End, the more the totality of theological concepts comes into play. With respect to our theme, this means that a correct interpretation of the concept "Dominion of the Antichrist" presupposes that all the basic concepts of theology, or rather all the fundamental realities of the history of salvation, are correctly understood." (from page 121)
....
"The Christian notion "Dominion of the Antichrist" is, moreover, not intelligible if it is not simultaneously conceived that original sin has been vanguished by the Logos become man, who eo ipso is also simultaneously the vanguisher of the Antichrist. We understand nothing about the Antichrist if we do not see him, despite all his power within history, as one who is fundamentally already defeated." (from page 124)
....
"The World State of the Antichrist will be in the extreme sense a totalitarian State. This is determined, however, not only by the lust for power and the suberbia of the Antichrist, but at the same time by the nature of the World State itself. To become overnight a totalitarian State - that is the inner peril, arising directly out of its very structure, that threatens a World Empire, which, per definitionem, is devoid of neighbours and thereby unexpectedly conforms to the political islands of the Utopias. Thus the liberal Gibbon said of the Imperium Romanum that within it freedom could have been torn up by the roots "because there was no possibility of flight"; "if dominion fell into the hands of one individual, that the world became a safe prison for his adversaries." To this a diary of the last war* adds the conclusion that the objection can be raised to the "unitary organisation of the world", which is certainly imminent, "from the standpoint of liberty, that it will leave no place to which one might emigrate". The Kantian ideal of the abolition of truly 'external' wars, which would be attained in a World State, has its reverse side: the place of external wars would be taken by internal 'police actions', the character of which would approximate very closely to the extermination of pests." (from page 130)
----------------
* G. Nebel, Bei den nordlichen Hesperiden (Wuppertal, 1948), 258
....
"Futhermore, tradition also sought also sought to discern an objective feature of the antichrist's resemblence to Christ in the fact that he will be a Jew; the Talmud itself sees him as a Jew. Thomas Aquinas likewise repeated this opinion (dicunt quidam...): "....and therefore the Jews will be the first to receive him and they will rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, and so the words of the prophet Daniel will be fulfilled, "There will be in the Temple abomination* and an idol.**"
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* The fact has been remarked upon that in the Greek of Saint Mark's Gospel the word "abomination", quoted from Daniel (9:27 ; 12:11), which is neuter, is used, contrary to every gramatical rule, as masculine and thus gives the idea of a male person.
** Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, chapter 2, lect. I
Just a few quotes from the third chapter of Pieper's book. The footnotes which I have used * and ** to indicate are Pieper's also.
I cannot say I can answer every question about this topic and I cannot quote longer passages I on a website (I hope these are ok), but am happy to hear thoughtful, prayerful comments on the above?
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