O Lord, I have heard of your renown;
your work, O Lord, inspires me with awe.
Make it live again in our time,
make it known in our time;
in wrath remember mercy.
(Habb 3:2, RNJB)

 

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So much of the discourse on prophecy today is about the “signs of the times”, the distress of the nations, and future events. Wars, rumors of wars, upheaval in nature, society, and the Church dominates discussion. Add to that the more dramatic prophecies of a coming Warning, refuges, and the appearance of Antichrist. 

Of course, much if not all of this is documented in the Revelation to St. John (the Apocalypse). But in the midst of the tumult, an angel “wielding great authority”^[1]Rev 18:1 declares to the apostle: 

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Rev 19:20)

This is the very heart of all authentic prophecy: the Word of Jesus, who is the “Word made flesh.”^[2]cf. John 1:14 Every apparition, every private revelation, every word of knowledge and prediction has as its locus Jesus Christ — His mission, life, death, and resurrection. Everything should return to that; everything should bring us back to the central invitation of the Gospel found in Jesus’ own first public words…Continue reading →

 

Some 20 years ago when I was “called to the wall” to begin The Now Word apostolate, setting aside to a large degree my music ministry, few people wanted to engage discussion of the “signs of the times.” Bishops seemed embarrassed by it; laity changed the subject; and mainstream Catholic thinkers simply avoided it. Even five years ago when we launched Countdown to the Kingdom, this project of publicly discerning prophecy was openly mocked. In many ways, it was to be expected:

…Remember the words spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, for they told you, “In [the] last time there will be scoffers who will live according to their own godless desires.” (Jude 1:18-19)

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