The Great Ribulation

things on this point: first, that Antichrist hud already
cornq and, second, that the firesence of the Antichmkt was
proof that he and his reao%rs were living in ?k last hour.” In
one of his earlier letters, St. Paul had had to correct
a mistaken impression regarding the coming judgment
on Israel. False teachers had been frightening
the believers by saying that the day of judgment was
already upon them. St. Paul reminded the Chrktians
of what he had explained before:
Let no one deceive you, for it will not come
unless the apostasy comes first. . . . (II Thessalonians
2:3).
By the end of the age, however, as John was writing
his letters, the Great Apostasy— the spirit of Antichrist,
of which the Lord had foretold–was a reality.
St. Jude, who wrote one of the very last New
Testament books, leaves us in no doubt about this
issue. Issuing strong condemnations of the heretics
who had invaded the Church and were attempting to
draw Christians away from the orthodox faith (Jude
1-16), he reminds his readers that they had been
warned of this very thing:
But you, beloved, ought to remember the
words that were spoken beforehand by the
apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they
were saying to you, ‘In the last time there shall be
mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.~
These are th ones who cause divisions, worldlyminded,
devoid of the Spirit (Jude 17-19).