Category: Eschatology

A reader writes:

Is there an official position of the Church regarding the temple being rebuilt in Jerusalem? 

No, there is not.

If not, what is your opinion? 

My opinion is that it will be. St. Paul writes:

Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God (2 Thess 2:3-4).

Here Paul seems to be speaking about a future event, and he refers to "the temple of God" (which, to a Jew of Paul’s kind, would only mean the Jerusalem temple). Yet since the temple is currently in ruins, this suggests that it will be rebuilt before the end.

The reader continues:

The article on Catholic.com about "The Antichrist" seems to suggest that it’s a given.

Yeah, that’s because I’m the author of that tract.

Also, could you recommend a good Catholic interpretation (book or website) of the Book of Revelations?  I need de-programming from my previous pre-trib exegesis.

Understood. Like so many former Evangelicals, it took me a while to learn to see Bible prophecy through non-dispensationalist eyes, though I did that before becoming Catholic.

I wish that I had a good Catholic book to recommend to you on the subject, but I don’t. There aren’t any ones (a) that are in print, and (b) that I am aware of, and (c) that would be likely to give you what you are looking for. So let me recommend some articles:

1. The Rapture: Are You Pre, Mid, or Post? This is a basic look at Catholic teaching on the end times. I am not the author of this, though I did revise it.
2. Apocalypse Not
3. The Structure of Revelation
4. The Flow of Time in Revelation
5. Hunt-ing the Whore of Babylon
6. The Earthquake Generation (This Rock, Feb. 1998)

UPDATE: A reader points out to me that Carl Olson’s book Will Catholics Be Left Behind? is also a good resource for ex-dispensationalists. This is true. I can recommend this book as well.

Hope this helps!

A reader writes:

Mr. Akin,

Within the last couple years, I’ve been an Atheist-come-Christian (not baptized). I plan on converting to Catholicism next year & will soon be
signed up for RCIA. I’ve been enjoying listening to you on the ‘Q&A Open
Forum’ from the ‘Catholic Answers’ radio show archives on the Internet. All of my initial concerns and questions have been entirely & satisfactorily dealt
with (the usual suspects: Papal authority, role of Mary & the Saints, Immaculate conception, works-vs-grace), EXCEPT one.

It is my view that:
1). God has returned the Jews to Israel, as promised.
2). He blesses toughs that bless the Jews
3). He will bring judgment on toughs that divide the land
4). The world will bring their armies against her.
and of course.
5). As a people, the Jews will come to know Jesus as their savior (I know this last point is in the Catechism).

What is the official view on these issues, if any? I must say that I feel very strongly about these issues, and that I’m truly hoping that they don’t contradict Catholic theology.

Could you please help me understand the Church’s view & let me know if there is room for these beliefs in the Church.

The Church does not have an official position on all of these questions. It does, as you note, teach the latter, because St. Paul does in Romans, though even then there is room for discussion about what the corporate conversion of the Jewish people means (e.g., someone might say that it means only most Jews, others might mean that it means absolutely all Jews; I view the latter as unlikely given how God tends to do things in history, but it’s not incompatible with the Catholic faith).

Regarding your first four points, however, it would be hard to establish an authoritative position of the Church on any of them in Magisterial documents. They would all seem to be permitted exegetical options, and thus, as you put it, there appears to be "room for these beliefs in the Church."

I should issue a caution here, however. Sometimes the points you name are put in a larger package of known as Dispensationalism. This is not a Catholic school of thought, and it has many problems, including (in my personal view) an excessively futuristic reading of the book of Revelation. I don’t know what sources you are drawing upon in formulating these views (besides the obvious Scripture passages used to support them), but I would exercise caution regarding them and not try to build a highly detailed view of the future.

Also, I’d be careful in applying these views to the current political situation. Holding the positions you maintain does not mean endorsing a uniformly pro-Israel point of view. Even during biblical days, when the promises of blessings and curses you mention were unquestionably in operation, Israel as a nation made mistakes that it would have been foolish to support. So great were the mistakes that God himself disciplined the nation through foreign invaders that took away the land. This serves as a warning both to Israelis and non-Israelis against an "Israel, right or wrong" policy. In the present situation, both Arabs and Israelis have violated the human rights of each other, and neither side is free of guilt. Both have blood on their hands.

Hope this helps, and welcome home!